Fire breaks out on Italian cruise ship in Aegean Sea

Fire broke out on an Italian cruise ship carrying more than 2,000 people in the western Aegean Sea today, but it has been extinguished, Greek authorities said. No injuries were reported.

The blaze broke out in the Costa Classica’s stern shortly after 10am (0800BST) as the ship was sailing off the island of Poros in the Saronic Gulf.

The cause of the fire and the extent of damage to the ship were not immediately known.

“There is no danger whatsoever, the fire has been extinguished,” a senior coastguard official said.

He said the Italian-flagged vessel – which has a crew of 580 – was carrying 1,580 passengers. Their nationalities were not made public.

A Greek navy frigate, five coastguard vessels and a rescue helicopter were sent to assist the ship, which was being escorted to the port of Piraeus.

The Costa Classica had set off from Venice on Sunday on an eight-day cruise to Dubrovnik, in Croatia, Piraeus and the Greek islands.

The ship owner company, Italy’s Costa Cruises, belongs to the US Carnival Corporation group.