Electric car causes deadly fire on cargo ship

Smoke rises as a fire breaks out on the Fremantle Highway freighter. Credit: COASTGUARD NETHERLANDS/REUTERS

The helicopter airlifted the remaining people from the ship's 23 crew. The victims were being treated for breathing problems, burns and broken bones.

The cause of the fire remains unknown, according to the Dutch Coast Guard website, but earlier on Wednesday, a department spokesman said it broke out near an electric vehicle.

A report by Dutch broadcaster NOS also quoted an unnamed official as suggesting that the fire could have been caused by an electric vehicle, one of about 25 on board.

«We are considering all scenarios,» the official said. said.

Authorities said the flames were “definitely not under control yet.”

“This fire is very difficult to put out, possibly because of the cargo the ship was carrying,” said Edwin Verstieg, representative of the Dutch Department of Waterways and Public Works.

A thermal imaging camera shows the Fremantle Highway cargo ship burning at sea July 26. Photo: COASTGUARD NETHERLANDS/REUTERS

Edwin Granneman, Coast Guard spokesman said salvage experts are trying to work out next steps.

The Fremantle Highway currently passes close to Ameland, one of the four environmentally sensitive Frisian Islands located in the Wadden Sea region north of the Dutch island. mainland.

Constituting the world's largest continuous system of tidal sand and mud flats, this area has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to a rich diversity of over 10,000 aquatic and terrestrial creatures The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf warned that if the Fremantle Highway sinks, «it would be a catastrophe of the highest order.»

About 340 containers fell from one of the world's largest container ships after a storm in the same area in early 2019, strewn miles of pristine coastline with plastic and polystyrene.