Mallorca ferry evacuated due to fire on the high seas
On the way from Valencia to Mallorca, a fire broke out in the engine room of the ferry "Tenacia." The crew attempted unsuccessfully to extinguish the fire with their own means. In the end, the ship had to be evacuated at sea.
Due to a fire on their ferry "Tenacia" to Mallorca, 350 passengers had to endure 24 hours at sea. Instead of reaching the holiday island in the morning, they were transferred to replacement ships and returned to their departure port of Valencia. They were expected to arrive there in the evening, according to the Italian ferry company GNV upon request. Fortunately, no one was injured.
The ferry "Tenacia" had set sail from the Spanish port city towards Palma on a Sunday evening, where it was supposed to arrive at the scheduled time in the morning, the company added. Shortly after midnight, however, a fire broke out in the engine room approximately halfway through the journey. The "Tenacia" had to stop, and the fire was initially fought with onboard means, but the flames did not extinguish quickly. The captain eventually ordered the evacuation of the ship. Professional firefighters were flown in by helicopter.
The Spanish rescue services transferred the passengers and some of the crew, who all had to put on life jackets, to two other ships in the vicinity using smaller boats. People had to slide from the high ferry through a rescue chute into the small boats of the rescue services in the water below.
They were then taken back to Valencia because that is where the damaged ship and the passengers' cars and luggage were being towed.
In Valencia, the people were accommodated in hotels for a night, and they were announced that they would finally be able to reach the holiday island with their cars and luggage on a replacement ferry on Tuesday. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Despite the unexpected incident, the passengers were offered alternative transportation to Majorca. Due to the damaged ferry being towed back to Valencia, the international shipping of passengers resumed from Spain to Majorca on replacement ships.
