The Washington Post reports this morning that a fire on a German cruise ship at a port in western Norway forced the evacuation of the 607 passengers and crew members on board.
A rescue services spokesman says the passengers on the Deutschland cruise ship are being evacuated.
The fire started in the machine room and firefighters have now contained it to that area. The cruise ship was carrying 364 passengers, 241 crew members and two Norwegian ship pilots when it caught fire at a port in Eidfjorden. The ship was heading to Hamburg.
The cruise ship is operated by Peter Deilmann Cruises and caters to the German premium market.
The Deutschland was featured in the German TV show "Das Traumschiff" – which is similar to the "The Love Boat" in the United States.
We have addressed the problem with fires on cruise ships in a prior article: Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires – Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything?
September 15, 2011 Update: For information regarding the engine room fire on the Nordlys, operated by Hurtigruten, read Cruise Ship Fire in Norway Kills Two.
Photograph credit for Deutschland cruise ship CruiseCritic