Firefighters have extinguished a blaze aboard the Russian fishing vessel Sveaborg at the port of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Three members of the crew died in the fire, and their bodies were found late Thursday.
The blaze broke out in the ship's engine room on Thursday afternoon while the Sveaborg was alongside the pier in Las Palmas. The vessel was undergoing maintenance at the port.
The Las Palmas de Gran Canaria fire department sent five fire engines to the scene, and they were assisted by the island's emergency services agency, the port authority, the Guardia Civil and the Salvamento Maritimo. The crew was evacuated, and two crewmembers were affected by smoke inhalation. Three were missing, and the first responders refrained from using the ship's fixed firefighting CO2 flooding system in hopes that they might be able to find the missing men alive.
The fire was extinguished successfully by Thursday night, and officials reported Friday morning that the response team had located the bodies of the three missing men.
The two victims of smoke inhalation were taken to a local hospital for treatment. Over 50 other survivors will need accommodation on shore until an investigation is completed, the port authority told local media.
