Cruise Ship Passengers Evacuated after Blaze on Board

Almost 200 passengers and crew on a cruise along the Danube river had to be evacuated from their vessel on Monday when a blaze broke out on board, the Austrian fire service said.

 

The passengers, who were on a trip with German river-cruise line A-Rosa from Linz to Budapest, were taken off and moved to a nearby ship after the blaze started close to the village of Schoenbuehel-Aggsbach in Lower Austria, a fire brigade spokesman said. No-one was hurt.

 

Twelve fire trucks and several boats with around 150 fire fighters fought the blaze before bringing it under control after two hours.

 

Five ship crew members who tried to extinguish the fire were treated for smoke inhalation in hospital, a spokesman for the Red Cross said.

 

While the reason for the fire was still unclear, it seemed to have started near a gym and fitness facilities on board the boat, the fire brigade spokesman said.

 

A spokeswoman for the tour operator said she had no information about the passengers' nationalities but confirmed that all of them were in good health.

 

"The ship is fully manoeuvrable according to current knowledge," she said. "A-Rosa, consultants and authorities are checking on site."


(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle)