Vincenzo Florio Ferry Fire – Incident Photo Of The Week

This week’s incident photo of the week is of the Italian ferry M/V Vincenzo Florio, enroute from Naples to Palermo. The BBC tells us:

About 500 passengers on board an Italian car ferry were evacuated in lifeboats after a fire broke out in the vessel’s hold, officials have said.

The Vincenzo Florio, travelling from the southern city of Naples to Palermo, was about 40km (25 miles) from the Sicilian port when the blaze started.

The passengers used the lifeboats to reach another ferry and a coastguard ship which had come to the rescue.

Five passengers, including a pregnant woman, have been taken to hospital.

“They knocked on the door of the cabin and told us to get on deck,” passenger Stefano Friscia told Italy’s Sky television afterwards.

“It was hard to breathe, the whole ship filled with smoke and they ordered the lifeboats lowered,” he added.

Most of the ferry’s 35 crew stayed on board to help extinguish the fire. The cause of the blaze is still being investigated.

The ship is being towed to Palermo and is due to dock later on Friday.

Ferry Incident Video:

A full photo slideshow of the incident can be found HERE.

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