All the passengers and crew on
board a Spanish-operated Italian ferry are safe after being
evacuated some 20 miles off the Spanish resort island of Palma
de Mallorca after a fire broke out on board Tuesday.
The 45 crew members - 14 of them Italian - and 170
passengers travelling on the Sorrento were forced to evacuate
after a fire broke out in the engine room two hours after it
departed from Palma, heading to the Spanish city of Valencia.
The fire rapidly spread to the rest of the ship, releasing
thick black fumes which left three crew members ill with smoke
inhalation.
They were rescued by another Italian-owned ship - the
Puglia, owned by ferry company Tirrenia but leased to Spanish
company Balearia - as well as other vessels in a Spanish and
Italian Coast Guard operation.
The ferry owned by Neapolitan company Grimaldi was leased
to Spanish company Acciona Transmediterranea three months ago.
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