The Hague, Jul 26 (EFE).- At least one person died and 16 others were injured in a fire on a cargo ship in the North Sea, about 30 kilometers off the coast of the Netherlands.
The ship, which was traveling from Germany to Egypt, had about 3,000 cars on board.
The Dutch Coast Guard reported that the cargo ship was still on fire, but the 23 crew members on board have already been evacuated: some were rescued by a maritime rescue services ship and others by helicopter.
One crew member died and 16 others were injured, who have been brought to hospitals near the coast with respiratory problems, although none of them is in danger, according to the regional security services.
The Fremantle Highway, sailing under a Panamanian flag, departed from the German port of Bremerhaven for Port Said in Egypt and had some 3,000 cars on board, of which 25 were electric cars.
The fire may have started in one of those electric vehicles and quickly spread to the rest, the Coast Guard said.
The crew itself tried to control the fire, but it was too intense, forcing seven of them to jump off the ship in a controlled manner until rescue services arrived and pulled them out of the water.
In addition to the Coast Guard, a fishing boat that was sailing in the area when the fire broke out also came to the crew’s rescue.
A tug managed to attach a cable to the Fremantle Highway to prevent it from drifting, ensuring that important shipping lanes to and from
Germany are not blocked as there is a strong wind current, although the Coast Guard stressed that all scenarios were being considered, including that the freighter may already be sinking. EFE
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