One killed, multiple hurt in fire on cargo ship near Ameland
A cargo ship carrying some 3,000 cars is on fire in the North Sea about 30 kilometers north of Ameland. One person on board died, and several got hurt, the Coast Guard said. All members of the crew have now been removed from the burning ship.
The ship, the Fremantle Highway, had 23 crew members on board, one of whom died in the fire. The coast guard and rescue society KNRM rescued them from the ship with helicopters and rescue boats. Several had to jump overboard and were rescued from the water.
The Fremantle Highway was on its way from Bremerhaven in Germany to Port Said in Egypt. The emergency services believe the fire started in one of the 25 electric cars on board around midnight, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard told NOS. The fire spread very quickly. Due to the danger, the emergency services decided to send no more firefighters on board to try and extinguish the blaze. Instead, they’re fighting the fire from the sea with extinguishing boats.
“We are also trying to prevent the ship from sinking, but it is already listing considerably,” a spokesperson for the Coast Guard told RTL Nieuws. Salvage vessels are trying to cool the ship and keep it afloat.
The Fremantle Highway sails under the Panamanian flag.
