Lifeboats scrambled to ferry in English Channel with 183 people on board due to 'ongoing incident'
manchestereveningnews.co.ukLifeboats have been scrambled to a ferry with nearly 200 people onboard due to an 'ongoing incident' in the English Channel.
Emergency services raced out to the ship in the middle of the 21-mile stretch between Dover and Calais after reports of a fire.
It's understood the Isle of Innisfree ferry was almost halfway across the Channel when a blaze started in the boat's engine room, the Mirror reports. READ MORE: Met Office map shows the areas where snow is forecast to fall next week All passengers and crew travelling on the vessel are said to be safe and accounted for, with the fire now believed to have been contained and extinguished.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution told the Mirror: "I can confirm RNLI lifeboats from Ramsgate, Dover and Dungeness have launched to a fire onboard a ferry mid-way between Dover and Calais." A spokesman for Irish Ferries said: "Irish Ferries can confirm that this evening, the crew on board its ship the Isle of Innisfree were alerted to a small fire in the ship’s engine room while the ship was sailing from Dover to Calais. "Irish Ferries crews train regularly to deal with incidents at sea, and the company has put its training into action and the fire has been extinguished." They added: "The ship is carrying 94 passengers and 89 crew and all are safe and accounted for.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk