DutchNews.nl,
Sunday 29 December 2013
 |
The ship is
due to the fire returned
to Newcastle (NOS/BBC)
|
Six people
- two passengers and four crew - were airlifted to hospital by British army
helicopters with smoke-related injuries. Several others were treated onboard.
The fire
started a couple of hours after the DFDS ferry had left the northern English
port and was extinguished within 15 minutes, a company spokesman said. The
ferry later returned to the port.
In total
the 1,000 plus people on board were ordered to remain on the ship to await
police questioning. According to some reports, one person has been detained in
connection with the fire.
Cabin
Police
spokesman Andrew Dixon told the BBC the coastguard had contacted them around
23.00 local time and said a passenger was ‘believed to have set fire to a
cabin’.
‘As a
result of this incident, the person suspected of causing the fire, or the
person from the cabin where the fire occurred - be it deliberate or accidental
- has been detained by ship staff,’ he told the broadcaster.
One Dutch
eye witness told the BBC: ‘there was a lot of smoke. You could smell it’
It is not
yet clear how the passengers now stranded in Newcastle are to reach the
Netherlands or how today’s IJmuiden Newcastle service will operate, Nos
television said.
Were you on
board? Email your stories and photos to editor@dutchnews.nl
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