AKIPRESS.COM - More than 500 passengers and crew have been evacuated from a burning ship about a mile off Puerto Rico’s north coast.
The fire burned as hundreds slid down emergency slides from the Caribbean Fantasy, a combination cruise and ferry ship, The Guardian reports.
US Coast Guard boats then carried passengers into San Juan’s harbour as helicopters flew overhead. Other agencies and private vessels joined in the effort on Wednesday as firefighters were ordered to abandon the ship for their own safety.
The mostly Dominican passengers included dozens of school-age athletes headed to competitions in Puerto Rico including a cycling team, a girls’ volleyball team and a boys’ baseball team. The ship runs several times weekly between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
The fire erupted in the engine room and apparently had been burning for some time before the alarm was sounded.