A fire has broken out on a vessel loaded with timber that is anchored off Gothenburg. 17 people are on board, and a major rescue effort is underway.
– The wooden load in front has started to burn, says rescue leader Anders Lännholm in the Swedish main rescue center to the news agency TT, according to NTB.
– There are many, many tons of wood and it has started to burn in an area about 15 meters long with wood, he says to Expressen.
– Will not evacuate
The ship has its home port in Liberia.
– It just burns more and more. The captain will not evacuate the crew yet, Lännholm told Aftonbladet just after 4 pm.
A major rescue effort is underway, and several helicopters and boats are on their way to the site.
– We send out firefighters with helicopters, says Lännholm.
– No one injured
– We have talked to the captain, no one is injured. Everyone in the crew tries to put out the fire as best they can with their fire hoses.
The vessel is anchored off Vinga, writes Göteborgs-Posten, which is informed by the rescue center that 17 people are on board.
The crew reported the fire at 14.35 on Saturday afternoon, according to Aftonbladet.
– We have notified two Swedish helicopters, the Norwegian Maritime Administration’s rescue helicopters from Kristianstad and Gothenburg. That from Säve takes specially trained firefighters out. We have also announced a Danish helicopter that has started now, a Danish patrol boat, a Portuguese frigate, which is a NATO ship that will arrive in 45 minutes. In addition, we have an ambulance boat, a pilot boat, two coast guard ships and Stena Danica on the way to help. We also have two lifeboats. So we have a lot of resources on the way, says Lännholm.
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