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The remains of an exhaust funnel on the cruise ship “Carnival Freedom”

Photo: dpa

There was a fire on the cruise ship “Carnival Freedom” in the Atlantic off the coast of a Bahamas island. An exhaust funnel caught fire on the ship on Saturday afternoon (local time) and part of it fell onto the deck. This was announced by Carnival Cruise Line. According to current information, no guests were injured and two firefighters suffered minor smoke inhalation.

The fire was extinguished after around two hours - also because the captain reportedly turned the ship so that heavy rain helped the fire protection team on board extinguish it. The ship can continue sailing and is expected in Freeport in the Bahamas on Sunday morning.

The investigation into the cause of the fire is still ongoing. The cruise company pointed to eyewitness reports that a lightning strike could have been responsible for the fire. According to the shipping company, the “Freedom” has 1,490 passenger cabins on 13 decks. It was initially unclear how many passengers were on board at the time of the fire.

hey/dpa