The Hague (Netherlands) | A fire on a freight ship carrying nearly 3,000 cars was burning out of control Wednesday in the North Sea, and the Dutch coast guard said one crew member had died, others were hurt and it was working to save the vessel from sinking.
Boats and helicopters were used to get the 23 crew members off the ship after they tried unsuccessfully to put out the blaze, the coast guard said in a statement.
“Currently there are a lot of vessels on scene to monitor the situation and to see how to get the fire under control," Coast Guard spokeswoman Lea Versteeg told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
"But it's all depending on weather and the damage to the vessel. So we're currently working out to see how we can make sure that ... the least bad situation is going to happen.” Asked if it was possible the ship could sink, Versteeg said: “It's a scenario we're taking into account and we're preparing for all scenarios.” The Fremantle Highway was sailing from the German port of Bremen to Port Said in Egypt when it caught fire some 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, and it wasn't clear how the crew member's death occurred.
“It's carrying cars, 2,857, of which 25 are electrical cars, which made the fire even more difficult. It's not easy to keep that kind of fire under control and even in such a vessel it's not easy,” Versteeg said.
Images taken from shore showed a long plume of gray smoke drifting over the sea from the stricken ship.
One towing ship managed to established a connection with the freighter to hold it in place.
“We hope that the fire will be under control or will die out and that we can get the vessel in a safe location," Versteeg said. "But it's all uncertain what's going to happen now.” Authorities in Germany were also on alert, German news agency dpa reported.
“We are monitoring the situation,” a spokesman for the German sea disaster command in the northern city of Cuxhaven said adding that they had offered support to the Dutch authorities. He said rescue ships and task forces were ready to help if needed, but that no decision had been made on whether to send them.