Lisco Gloria Fire In Baltic
Fire Follows Explosion
October 9, 2010
On October 9, 2010 a fire broke out on the 650-foot Lisco Gloria after and explosion took place on the upper deck.
There were 249 people on board at the time, but they were rescued by a half dozen ships that responded to the emergency. There were reports alleging that unregistered passengers were onboard, hiding in the trucks bringing the total number of persons on board from 236 to 249.
Just two hours after leaving the port of Kiel on October 8, a passenger onboard the LISCO Gloria reported seeing smoke coming from one of the trucks on the upper deck and attempted to contain the fire.
Heavy smoke forced the passenger to flee the area. Fuel from the trucks caused an explosion, engulfing the ship in flames. Passengers, truck drivers, and crew onboard, who were headed to Klaipeda at the time of the incident, were evacuated onto other vessels.
Police say three people were flown to hospitals by helicopter, while more than two dozen others were slighly injured.
Firefighting ships have been spraying the now empty ferry with water to keep it from breaking apart and spilling some 170 tons of fuel.
An investigation into the cause of the explosion is under way, but German officials and the ferry line say the blast appears to have been a technical mishap.
A spokeswoman for Germany's maritime authority says those on board were lucky, because the accident happened on a major shipping route where other ships could respond to help.
