300 Tallink Megastar passengers evacuated in Helsinki after bus fire
Around 300 passengers were evacuated from the Tallink Megastar cruise ferry not long after midnight Thursday after a bus parked on the vehicle deck caught fire, Yle reported.
The fire does not affect the Megastar's operations Thursday, nor Estonian shipping line Tallink's ferry services more generally.
The blaze was spotted shortly before the ferry docked at Helsinki's West Terminal, Helsinki Rescue Department reported, and around 300 passengers on board were evacuated.
There was no immediate danger of the fire spreading further.
Tallink Silja's Communications Director Marika Nöjd told Yle no injuries were sustained, adding she did not yet have information about other damage caused by the fire.
"As far as I understand, only that bus burned, and the ship's crew was able to put it out using the ship's sprinkler system," Nöjd said.
Nöjd estimated that the fire broke out shortly before the ship arrived at port in Helsinki, and the rescue department met the ship upon arrival.
Passengers disembarked via the normal route, but about 20 minutes later than scheduled, she added.
The Megastar's first departure from Helsinki to Tallinn at 7:30 a.m. Thursday morning was unaffected by the incident, she added.
The Helsinki Rescue Department received notification of a medium-sized vehicle fire at West Terminal T2 at 12:28 a.m. Thursday. Up to 11 rescue units were on the scene.
On-call fire chief Sami Lappalainen from the Helsinki Rescue Department told Yle after 3 a.m. that the fire had been extinguished, and the bus on the vehicle deck had been towed off the ship.
Vehicles parked near to the bus had, to his knowledge, also been evacuated.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Yle photographer John Palmén was on the scene shortly before 3 a.m., reporting that the situation was already over and that West Terminal was "very quiet and calm."
The Tallink Megastar was laid down in 2017 and has a passenger capacity of 2,800.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: Yle
