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Fire on Excursion Ship Seeadler Contained at Greifswalder Oie

Rapid local rescue action stopped the ship's runaway engine, limiting damage as police investigate a suspected short circuit.

Overview

  • A fire broke out aboard the excursion vessel Seeadler while most passengers and the captain were ashore on Greifswalder Oie and a single deckhand discovered flames on the ship's bridge.
  • The deckhand used a fire extinguisher and alerted nearby DGzRS rescuers who secured the engine room and closed fuel shut-off valves to stop a main engine that had started running unintentionally.
  • Three rescue boats carried 17 volunteer firefighters to the island and a DRF air ambulance flew the deckhand to hospital for precautionary treatment for smoke exposure.
  • All passengers were uninjured and later returned to the mainland on a replacement vessel that the operator, Apollo GmbH, dispatched to the island.
  • Wasserschutzpolizei in Wolgast estimates material damage at about €3,000 and the Kriminalpolizei has opened a formal investigation into the exact cause, with a short circuit currently suspected.