TWO crew members have died onboard a cruise ship in an unexplained “incident” while docked in the Bahamas.
The pair died in the ship’s engineering space when a steam pipe exploded sparking a fire onboard, unconfirmed reports claim.
Those who died were foreign nationals, Eyewitness News claims.
Two Bahamian men were also reportedly injured during the incident.
Cruise line Holland America confirmed their deaths on Friday and said: “All of us at Holland America Line are deeply saddened by this incident and our thoughts and prayers are with our team members’ families at this difficult time.”
Their deaths are under investigation and authorities are involved.
Tragedy struck on Friday morning when the cruise liner Nieuw Amsterdam was docked in Half Moon Cay.
It was heading for the private island destination from Florida on a seven-night cruise.
The incident has been described as a “steam leak” which happened shortly after 9am on Friday, according to Cruise Hive.
Fire alarms on the ship went off and emergency alerts were reportedly blasted over the ship’s intercom.
Unconfirmed reports said the ship’s captain called it a “steam leak” during the announcement.
Guests travelling onboard were apparently startled before the all-clear was given an hour later.
It was slightly delayed in leaving the port later that day.
Despite some reports, Holland America told Cruise Hive that claims of a fire onboard are “not accurate”.
The ship, which can carry over 2,500 passengers, was due back in Florida this morning.
No official reports of a delay have been given.
A Netherlands-flagged vessel, the Nieuw Amsterdam carries a crew of around 930 and cost around £350million to build.
