Ship with 3,000 cars in flames - at least one dead

 

Netherlands  

 

Cargo ship with 3000 cars on fire - one dead

The suspicion: Electric car caught fire

Anna Sjogren

  

Updated 21:52 | Published at 05:57  

 

News  

 

A ship loaded with 3,000 cars catches fire off the coast of the Netherlands. 

 

At least one person has died and several have been injured in the fire. 

 

The ship could continue to burn for days, according to the Coast Guard.  

 

The fire on the Panama-flagged vessel Fremantle Highway broke out overnight on Wednesday. One person from the crew has died in the fire, the coast guard says.  

 

A major rescue operation was launched in the middle of the night and helicopters were sent to the scene of the fire.  

 

A total of 23 crew members were on board, and seven of them jumped overboard to try to escape the fire. They then had to be rescued by helicopter.  

 

All of the crew have been evacuated. According to the site Waldnet, at least 20 of them have been injured.  

 

Hard leak  

 

The ship was loaded with around 3,000 cars, of which 300 were Mercedes-Benz.  

 

The coast guard suspects that an electric car caught fire and started the fire, which then spread quickly. About 25 of the 3,000 vehicles were electric cars.  

 

The flames were fought from fire boats and they also tried to cool the ship down. 

 

- We are also trying to prevent the ship from sinking, says a spokesperson for the coast guard. 

 

Because there are electric vehicles on board, the fire is considered very difficult to extinguish.  

The coast guard tells the Dutch news agency ANP that it could continue to burn for days.  

 

The ship is approximately 200 meters long and 32 meters wide and it is located approximately 27 kilometers north of the island of Ameland, according to TT.

 

 

 

1 / 2Photo: AP