Odyssey continues after fire on Mallorca ferry
Hundreds of people had to be evacuated as a fire broke out on a ferry to Mallorca. The shipping company promises quick organization for the stranded passengers - many of them are still without luggage in Valencia. Some travel on their own now.
Two days after the fire on a ferry to Mallorca, many of the 350 affected passengers had to wait for their vehicles and luggage. "We hope to have new information regarding this by Wednesday," the press release from the responsible shipping company GNV read. The fire had broken out in the machine room of the car ferry "Tenacia" from Valencia to Mallorca in the night from Monday to Tuesday. No one was injured.
Most passengers, including many truck drivers who were professionally on the road, never reached the Spanish holiday island. They were brought back to Valencia on Monday because the damaged ship and the passengers' vehicles and luggage were towed there. And most of them were still waiting for concrete information after two days in Valencia, as reported by the regional newspaper "Última Hora" and other Mallorcan media. The shipping company had offered them hotels, it said. However, some passengers had also decided not to wait and to fly to Mallorca on their own or to cancel their holidays.
Working in coordination with the relevant authorities, the Italian shipping company is working tirelessly to make all areas of the ship accessible, it said. A request for the number of people still waiting in Valencia was not answered immediately. Originally, GNV had promised that all those affected would be transported with their cars and luggage on a replacement ferry to Mallorca on Tuesday.
Captain gives statement
In the latest press release, the captain also spoke out. He explained his decision to evacuate the boat on Monday, even though the fire was already under control. According to him, a trailer on the deck was threatening to catch fire. "That would have complicated the evacuation. In addition, the passengers complained that the air conditioning did not work and they could not go to their cabins. We could only rely on the emergency power generator at that time, which caused many things to fail," the captain was quoted as saying. The evacuation was carried out by the Spanish rescue services.
The 350 passengers and 61 crew members had set sail for Mallorca from Valencia on Sunday evening. The fire broke out shortly after midnight, as the ship was north of Ibiza. Professional firefighters were flown in by helicopter. Both the machine room and the car deck were under water, according to GNV. This complicates the search for the cause of the fire and has so far also delayed the unloading of the vehicles and luggage.
Despite the major setbacks, some affected passengers decided to fly to Majorca independently, bypassing the waiting period in Valencia. The international shipping company, GNV, is still working diligently to provide concrete updates on the recovery of vehicles and luggage for the remaining passengers.
