Panic as fire breaks out on cruise ship forcing thousands of passengers to evacuate their rooms in the middle of the night
- Fire broke out on Pacific Adventure cruise ship
- Passengers were evacuated from their rooms
Thousands of cruise passengers have been evacuated from their rooms after a fire broke out onboard a ship.
The blaze started on the balcony of the Pacific Adventure cruise ship, which was stationed off the NSW coast, about 3:15am on Sunday.
Guests were evacuated from their rooms to the muster stations.
P&O Cruises Australia confirmed the fire was extinguished shortly after it was detected.
‘This fire activated our emergency response procedures including a full muster of guests and crew and we thank everyone on board for their co-operation,’ a statement read.
A fire broke out on the balcony of P&O’s Pacific Adventure cruise ship on Sunday morning
There are no reports of any injuries.
A passenger onboard the cruise ship told Daily Mail Australia that a cigarette was the cause of the fire.
‘Someone set the bed on fire with a cigarette,’ she said.
Guests were woken up by alarms and a voice-over in the middle of the night.
‘I thought I was dreaming because there was a voice-over,’ the passenger recalled.
‘But when it kept going off and then the alarms that’s when people realised it was getting serious.’
‘Everyone remained calm in the process. I felt sorry for the parents with the screaming children. They must of been frightened.’
The blaze was reportedly contained to a single cabin.
Guests were able to return to their rooms at about 5:20am after the fire was put out.
Thousands of guests onboard the vessel were evacuated from their rooms in the middle of the night
The extent of the damage to the ship is still being determined.
The passenger explained the mood onboard the ship was ‘tired but upbeat’ as staff reassured passengers.
‘Staff have been amazing,’ she said.
‘They have carried on like nothing has happened but giving lots of reassurance and positive vibes.’
The Pacific Adventure is in the middle of a three-day cruise in and out of Sydney.
The ship is scheduled to return to Sydney on Tuesday.
It’s understood there are 3,017 guests and 1,080 crew onboard.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to P&O Cruises Australia for comment.
Source: Read Full Article
