A cruise ship fire stranded 4,500 passengers from U.S. off the coast of Mexico.
April 17, 2011- Fire in a generator caused power to be knocked out on a Mexican-based cruise ship located just off the Pacific Coast. There were 515 passengers that were evacuated Saturday. The Ocean Star Pacific’s fire started in one of the six generators and was under control quickly after starting Friday night.
The mostly Mexican passengers were evacuated via catamaran to Huatulco in the state of Oaxaca on Saturday. No injuries were reported, and none of the passengers were ever in danger. Most of the passengers were on the way to Mexico City by Saturday afternoon while close to 145 decided to go to Acapulco via bus.
The ship was being towed to Salina Cruz port for repairs and over 200 crew members remained on board. The cruise line announced that at least two trips would be cancelled while the liner was being repaired. They also announced that all the passengers would be invited back for a cruise free of charge.
The ship was on a three-day cruise that had started on Thursday and was returning to Acapulco after having docked in Huatulco. The ship has a capacity of just over 1,000 passengers. This new line, recently inaugurated by Mexican President Felipe Calderon April 9th, was making only its second voyage when power was lost. A full investigation will be conducted by the Ministry of Communications and Transport in order to guarantee the safety of all future passengers.
