Carnival Cruise ship catches fire while docked

Carnival Freedom caught fire with 3.500 people aboard, while in Grand Turk port. The funnel area of the ship was affected.

The 110.000 tons Carnival Freedom, carrying 2.504 passengers and 972 crew members, left Port Canaveral on Monday for a five-day cruise.

The funnel caught fire while the ship was docked in Grand Turk port in the capital of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

According to the company’s representatives, the fire was quickly extinguished by the emergency rescue team and no casualties were reported. Nobody was injured, but the “whale’s tail” area of the ship was affected. The company did not disclose the value of the damage.

The cause of the blaze is also yet to be established.

“Carnival apologized to all those guests who are impacted and offered special thanks to the crew who handled the situation on the ship effectively and according to safety protocols,” the company’s representatives stated.

The returning cruise of Carnival Freedom has been cancelled, as Carnival Conquest ship owned by the same company will bring the passengers back to Port Canaveral with a 2 days delay.

 

Source: eu.floridatoday.com, washingtonpost.com