(Wood Islands) About 230 people were evacuated from a ferry near Prince Edward Island on Friday morning after a fire in the engine room.
Updated yesterday at 10:18pm.
The incident happened aboard the MV Holiday Island, which operates between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Most passengers remained calm when the alarm went off, said John Kenny, who was on board with his son, adding it was “disturbing” to see black and gray smoke billowing from the ship’s smokestack.
Inflatable slides were used. People were brought ashore by fishing boats, lifeboats and even a yacht, he said.
The ferry traveled through the Northumberland Strait between Caribou, Nova Scotia, and Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island.
It was approaching port just after 11am when the fire broke out, according to Northumberland Ferries. The captain dropped both anchors and steered the ship onto a soft shoal, company vice president Dan Cormier added in a press release.
All passengers were brought ashore by 1:15 p.m., according to a tweet from the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax. No injuries were reported.
However, there were also about 80 vehicles and three commercial vehicles on board, Rhonda Latter, director of business services, said in an email. She does not know when the rescued passengers will find their cars and belongings.
“We’ll try to get the ship back to dock when it’s reasonably safe,” she explained.
Mr Kenny said he was grateful no one was injured but felt bad for those who had no vehicles or luggage.
“Surely a lot of people aren’t going to have a great weekend,” he said, noting that there were many young families on board. “I mean, I have some medicine over there that I need by tomorrow.” »
According to the passenger, people were allowed to have their pets, adding that he saw a woman holding a cat and a birdcage with some parakeets.
All were taken on the school bus to the nearby tourist information center, where staff took down people’s names and offered them a place to sit, he said.
He confirmed Northumberland Ferries staff are also arranging transport, accommodation and other costs for those who need them.
On Friday night, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) announced it was dispatching a team of investigators to gather information and evaluate the incident.