The smokestack of the Carnival Freedom cruise ship caught fire while sailing off the coast of the Bahamas.
The ship was about 32 kilometers from Eleuthera Island when the fire broke out. The incident began when the ship was heading to Freeport,
A shocking video – filmed by a passenger on board – shows the moment when flames and dense smoke enveloped the cruise ship’s chimney.
No guests were reported injured during the incident, although two crew members were treated for minor smoke inhalation.
Given the emergency, the captain of the ship made the decision to head towards an area with heavy rain to enhance efforts to extinguish the flames.
The fire – which occurred around 3:15 pm on Saturday – was extinguished approximately two hours after it started.
The vessel required immediate repairs to stabilize the ship’s funnel structure.
The incident caused greater damage than initially estimated, according to a statement issued by Carnival.
The port side of the exhaust funnel fell onto deck 10 of the ship as a result of the fire, according to Carnival.
Although rumors arose about the possibility that lightning was the cause of the fire, the company clarified that this version has not been confirmed.
The cruise line said passengers were able to attend dinner as planned Saturday night and that all areas of the ship were fully operational as of Sunday, except for the open decks.
The ship visited Freeport on Sunday, Carnival said, adding that there were no operational issues with the ship’s systems.
This Monday the Carnival Freedom was scheduled to head to the Freeport shipyard in the Bahamas to carry out the necessary repairs.
The cruise line was forced to cancel two voyages it had scheduled from Port Canaveral, Florida, one for March 25 and another for March 29.
However, the company assured affected passengers that they will receive full refunds as well as a credit towards a future cruise.
Authorities are investigating the causes of the incident. It is the second time that something similar has happened on a Carnival cruise, according to local press reports.
