A fire on the car deck of a passenger ferry with 600 people on board set Scandinavian rescue authorities on high alert on Wednesday, but the ship’s operator said the situation was under control and no evacuations were needed.
The Pearl of Scandinavia was headed from Oslo to Copenhagen when sea rescue authorities received reports of smoke billowing from the car deck.
Swedish and Danish rescue units responded to the ship, which was about three miles (five kilometers) off Sweden’s west coast, and were standing by to bring people off the ship if needed.
However, ferry operator DFDS said that the fire was put out and no evacuations were needed.
“There are no reports of injuries,” DFDS spokeswoman Vivian Sivertsen said. “The ship is now heading toward Copenhagen without assistance.”
She said all passengers were evacuated from their cabins when the fire started around 6 a.m. (0500GMT) and gathered in restaurants on one of the upper decks. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
It was the second fire to hit the DFDS shipping company in as many months.
On October 2, a blaze wrecked the Lithuanian—flagged Lisco Gloria ferry in the Baltic Sea, forcing the safe evacuation of the 236 people aboard. The fire was believed due to an accidental explosion on its upper deck. The exact cause of the fire has not been determined yet. No one was injured and no oil spilled.
