Jean Nicoli Ferry ExplosionNewspapers in Europe are reporting that seventy-seven passengers and crew members were evacuated from a ferry and pier at the port of Joliette, in Marseilles, France after "after loud noises were heard below deck.’

The ferry was identified as the Jean Nicoli which was scheduled to leave for Sardinia this morning.  

Mail Online says that France deployed "heavily armed soldiers and police to its ports in fear of ISIS jihadis boarding ferries." The enhanced port security follows the ISIS inspired truck attack on Bastille Day in Nice, France which killed 84 people and the killing of a priest in a Normandy church.

But there seems to be uncertainty regarding what caused the explosion and where it occurred. 

While the UK based newspapers initially speculated that the explosion might have been caused by a terrorist organization, the media in France concluded that the explosion came from a bomb from the Second World War. The French newspaper Le Figaro suggested that the explosion was allegedly caused by a bomb left from World War II.

Mail Online’s article was originally titled "Marseilles ferry passengers and crew flee after "explosion" heard amid fears of ISIS attack."  The newspaper changed it to "Panic as 77 passengers and crew evacuated from a ferry in Marseilles after WWI ammunition "explodes" in the seabed."

It remains unclear whether the bomb was intentionally or accidentally exploded.

The bomb reportedly did not cause any damage to the ferry or injuries to the passengers or crew.

Photo Credit: Atlantico – "Marseilles: an explosion near the Seaport causes the evacuation of a ferry."