The Associated Press
BERLIN — A 650-foot ferry was ablaze in the Baltic Sea on Saturday after an explosion on the upper deck, and firefighting ships were spraying the vessel with water to keep it from breaking apart and spilling some 170 tons of fuel, officials said.
There were 249 people aboard who were rescued by six ships that moved in to help after the explosion on the Lisco Gloria around midnight. Three were taken to hospitals by helicopter and another 26 were slightly injured, police said.
German officials and the ferry operator said the blast was not a terror attack, but appeared to have been a technical mishap.
Authorities allowed the blaze aboard the ship to burn because “there’s a possibility it could capsize if we continue” spraying water on the fire, a Danish navy duty commander said. No oil had spilled, he said.
Once the fire has stopped burning, authorities hope to be able to pull the ferry to a nearby harbor, where the accident’s cause can be thoroughly investigated.
The Lithuanian-flagged ferry was traveling from the German port of Kiel to Klaipeda, Lithuania, authorities said.
Passengers and crew were evacuated by lifeboat and taken by another ferry to a naval base near Kiel, officials and the shipping company DFDS said. The passengers were mostly Lithuanians, a DFDS spokesman said.