A massive blaze on a cargo ship carrying nearly 3,000 vehicles off the Dutch coast killed at least one person and injured several others on Wednesday. According to the Dutch Coast Guard, the incident occurred on Tuesday night, when the vessel was en route from Germany to Egypt. It said that the blaze forced the crew members to jump in order to save their lives.
In a statement, the agency said boats and helicopters were used to get the 23 crew members off the ship after they tried unsuccessfully to put out the blaze. Further, it added that the investigating agency has been probing the cause of the fire and how the crew member died.
Crew members jumped into sea
"All 23 crew members have disembarked. Part of the crew jumped aboard and was taken out of the water by lifeboats from the KNRM and Rederij Noordgat. The Coast Guard helicopter disembarked the remaining crew members," according to the statement.
"Unfortunately, one crew member has passed away. How that happened is not known to the Coast Guard. Several crew members were injured. The people on board were taken to Lauwersoog and Eelde airports. There they were taken care of by paramedics," it added.
However, the ship’s owner said an electric car in the cargo was suspected as a possible cause of the blaze, The Guardian reported.
Further, it asserted that several parties, including salvage companies and Rijkswaterstaat (Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management) have been working on an action plan.
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