Video: Passengers Evacuated as Fire Destroys Nile River Cruise Ship

 

A total of 220 passengers, mostly foreign tourists, were successfully evacuated after a fire broke out on a Nile cruise ship. The Public Prosecutor’s office in Luxor, Egypt, has begun an investigation, but early indications are that it was caused by an electrical short starting in the vessel’s galley.

The Iberotel Crown Empress was built in 2004 as a luxury cruise ship designed for the Nile. It has 128 rooms with large panoramic windows and offered amenities including a swimming pool, spa, gym, and sun deck. 

The ship had started a 12-day cruise on the Nile from Luxor on Monday, October 27. The fire started around 6:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, October 28, according to the media reports. Some of the passengers said they were alerted by other boats passing on the Nile and opened windows to observe large plumes coming from the ship.

 

 

The captain of the vessel diverted to an unofficial port at Esna on the Nile, but the evacuation was complicated by the fire being on the first deck. Some of the passengers were reportedly taken off by Good Samaritan boats on the river, while others were evacuated onto a boat alongside. 

All 220 passengers were removed from the vessel safely, but three crew members were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The fire reportedly burned through the boat. A safety investigation is expected, with reports citing another major river boat fire on the Nile nearly 20 years ago. Five crew members were killed in November 2007 on the M/S Aurora near Luxor in a fire that started in the engine room of the ship. The 43 French tourists on board were safely evacuated.