Amsterdam [Netherlands], July 26 : A man died while several others sustained injuries after a massive fire broke out on a cargo ship in the North Sea off the Netherlands, CNN reported quoting the Dutch coast guard.
A spokesperson for the Dutch coast guard told CNN on Wednesday that rescue boats and helicopters were used to get the 23 crew members off the ship after some of them jumped into the water.
The ship can be seen in the distance, releasing grey smoke, in photos shot from the coast.
“The recovery vessel Hunter has an emergency connection to the ship and is holding the ship in a controlled position. Multiple parties are working on an action plan to limit the damage as much as possible,” the tweet read, as per CNN.
According to CNN affiliate and Dutch national network NOS, the Fremantle Highway cargo ship, which flies the flag of Panama, was travelling with about 3,000 automobiles from Bremerhaven in Germany to Port Said in Egypt.
According to NOS, one of the 25 electric vehicles on board may have ignited the fire, but the coast guard representative told CNN that the cause is still being looked into.
The ship was travelling 27 kilometres north of Ameland, an island off the northern edge of the Netherlands when it reported an onboard fire to the Coast Guard at around midnight local time on Wednesday.
The crew made an effort to put out the fire on their own, but they were unsuccessful, according to the coast guard.
As the fire continued to spread further, many crew members jumped overboard.
“The people had to get off,” skipper Willard Molenaar from the Ameland rescue ship told NOS. “One after another they jumped and we fished them out of the water.” The ship with the cars is around 30 meters high, according to Molenaar. “They were really in need and that’s why they had to jump. You don’t just do that,” he added.
All 23 crew members disembarked using rescue boats and helicopters, but according to the coast guard, several of them were hurt and one of them died.
According to NOS, the remaining sailors were airlifted off the ship, and no one is still aboard.
The coast guard continued, saying that the crew members were treated by paramedics while being transported to the neighbouring coastal community of Lauwersoog and Groningen Airport in Eelde, CNN reported.
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