One crew member has died and 22 others have been injured in a fire on a large cargo vessel loaded with nearly 3,000 vehicles off the Dutch island of Ameland in the North Sea, officials said on Wednesday.
The fire was reported just before midnight on Tuesday and was still burning on Wednesday, the Dutch Coast Guard said.
Video posted by the Coast Guard showed smoke billowing from the 656-foot vessel, as one of the many ships that responded to the fire doused it with water.
Lea Versteeg, a Coast Guard spokeswoman, told The Associated Press that the cargo ship, called the Fremantle Highway, had been carrying 2,857 cars, including 25 electric cars.
The cause of the fire was not known, the Coast Guard said, adding that specialists from a marine salvage company were assessing the situation, which it described as “stable at the moment.”
Persons:
Lea Versteeg
Organizations:
Dutch Coast Guard, Coast Guard, Associated Press
Locations:
Ameland, North