Explosion and fire on ferry LISCO Gloria

Nearly 240 people were rescued from a ferry in the Baltic Sea in the early hours of Saturday after an explosion on the ship set it on fire. Around 20 people were injured, largely from smoke inhalation, three badly enough to be taken by helicopter to hospital, while rescuers said many were traumatised by the experience. Authorities in Cuxhaven said there was an explosion at around midnight on the upper deck of the Lithuanian ferry the Lisco Gloria.  Six ships went to the scene to help, including the ferry Deutschland, onto which the passengers were transferred and then taken to Kiel, arriving at around 6 am. The Lisco Gloria owner, DFDS Seaways, said it was very grateful for the swift assistance offered by the authorities.  “There were mostly Lithuanian passengers, and only a few Germans,” said Gert Jacobsen, the company’s spokesman. Those on board included 89 lorry drivers and 32 crew members.
The ferry left Kiel at around 10 pm on Friday according to the timetable, and was heading to Klaipeda, Lithuania, a journey which takes 21 hours. The explosion happened when the ferry was around 11 kilometres north of the island Fehmarn. On Saturday morning the ferry, which is 200 metres long and was built in 2002, was drifting in the direction of Denmark, still on fire, while several fire fighting ships were trying to extinguish the flames.
LISCO Gloria IMO 9212151, grt 20600, built 2002, flag Lithuania, owner DFDS LISCO.