Fear at the port of Piombino , in Livorno , where a fire broke out in the engine room of a ferry leaving for the island of Elba : the ship is being evacuated .
From what we have learned, there are about 300 people on board and two minor injuries have been reported, with some abrasions . The Coast Guard and firefighters are operating on site.
The ferry is the Corsica Express three , of the Corsica Sardinia Ferries company , headed to Porto Ferraio : the passengers were evacuated via the emergency slides.
The ship , which left the port of Piombino around 3:15 p.m., was returned to port after about a quarter of an hour after smoke was detected in the engine room where the fire broke out. The maritime directorate of Livorno explained that the fire was immediately put out, but the concern was to secure the passengers' safety by returning to port immediately.
The fire caused a failure in the aft door controls that could not be opened once the ferry returned to Piombino : for this reason the emergency procedure was triggered and passengers had to be disembarked via the emergency slides . Precisely because it was impossible to open the doors, the firefighters also intervened with 3 ladder trucks as well as 3 teams, 2 air carts, personnel from the Livorno and Grosseto diving units and with the Drago helicopter from the Cecina Vf flight department.
Once the security checks have been completed, cars locked inside the garage can also be disembarked.
(Unioneonline/vl)
