200 rescued from blazing ferry

A firefighting vessel tries to extinguish a fire on the car ferry Lisco Gloria in the Baltic Sea. -- PHOTO: AP

BERLIN - MORE than 200 passengers and crew were evacuated after a ferry caught fire near the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea, German authorities said on Saturday.

The Lithuanian passenger and car ferry Lisco Gloria was en route from the northern city of Kiel to the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda when an explosion occurred, the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said.

'There is currently no danger for other ships,' a spokesman said. The cause of the explosion was unclear, he added.

Several people were injured and three taken to hospital by helicopter, the spokesman said. The other passengers were on their way back to Kiel on a different ferry.

Firefighters and rescue vessels were on site. -- REUTERS

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