Vehicle carrier ship on fire off Dutch coast, 23 evacuated: coastguard

Rescue helicopters and a boat evacuated 23 crew members from a car-carrying vessel off the Dutch coast early Wednesday, the coastguard said, after a massive fire broke out aboard the Panamanian-registered ship.

“Around midnight the Coast Guard received a report that the Fremantle Highway is on fire,” the Dutch coastguard said on its website, adding that the incident happened about 27 nautical miles (50 km) north of the northern island of Ameland.

“All 23 crew members have been evacuated,” it said. (BSS/AFP)