Lifeboats scrambled after fire breaks out on ferry carrying 183 people in Channel

Coastguard alerted after blaze erupts

(PA)

Fire broke out on a ferry carrying almost 200 people in the English Channel, prompting emergency services to rush to help.

RNLI lifeboats from Dover, Ramsgate and Dungeness were sent to the vessel that was sailing from Dover to Calais, a the 21-mile stretch and the shortest crossing point of the Channel.

The ship, the Isle of Innisfree, owned by Irish Ferries, was carrying 94 passengers and 89 crew.

The company said the fire, which was in the engine room, had been contained, and no one had been reported injured.

The ship was now at anchor, with the Coastguard on hand to provide assistance if needed, it said.

The Isle of Innisfree, built in Belgium in 1992, can accommodate 1,140 passengers at full capacity.

“The ship is carrying 94 passengers and 89 crew, and all are safe and accounted for. The Coastguard has been informed and is ready to provide assistance if required. The vessel is currently safely at anchor,” Irish Ferries said.

It added: “Crews train regularly to deal with incidents at sea, and the company has put its training into action and the fire has been extinguished.

“Passengers booked on the 19.25 Calais-Dover sailing will be transferred to alternative sailings. Irish Ferries would like to sincerely apologise to all its passengers for the disruption to their journeys.”

The coastguard said all passengers and crew were accounted for and that no injuries were reported, but the vessel was having technical difficulties.