(Wood Islands) About 230 people were evacuated from a ferry near Prince Edward Island on Friday morning after a fire in the engine room.
Updated yesterday at 10:18 p.m.
The incident occurred on board the MV Holiday Islandwhich operates between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Most passengers remained calm when the alarms went off, said John Kenny, who was on board with his son, adding that it was “disturbing” to see black and gray smoke billowing from the smokestack of the vessel.
Inflatable slides have been deployed. People were taken to land by fishing boats, lifeboats and even a yacht, he said.
The ferry was traveling through the Northumberland Strait between Caribou, Nova Scotia, and Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island.
It was approaching the port shortly after 11 a.m. when the fire broke out, according to Northumberland Ferries. The captain dropped both anchors and steered the vessel onto a soft shoal, company vice president Dan Cormier added in a news release.
All passengers had been brought ashore by 1:15 p.m., according to a tweet from the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax. No injuries were reported.
However, there were also about 80 vehicles and three commercial trucks on board, Rhonda Latter, director of business services, said in an email. She did not know when the rescued passengers would be able to find their cars and belongings.
“We will attempt to bring the ship back to dock when it is reasonably safe,” she explained.
Mr Kenny said he was grateful no one was injured, but felt bad for everyone who had no vehicles or luggage.
“For sure a lot of people won’t have a great weekend,” he said, noting that there were a lot of young families on board. “I mean, I have some medicine over there that I need by tomorrow.” »
People were allowed to have their pets, according to the passenger, adding that he saw a woman holding a cat and a birdcage with some parakeets.
Everyone was taken by school bus to the nearby tourist information center, where staff took people’s names and offered them a place to sit, he said.
He confirmed Northumberland Ferries staff are also arranging transport, accommodation and other costs for those who need it.
On Friday evening, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) announced that it was sending a team of investigators to gather information and assess the event.