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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Abigail O'Leary & Sophie Halle-Richards

Lifeboats scrambled to ferry in English Channel with 183 people on board due to 'ongoing incident'

Lifeboats have been scrambled to a ferry with nearly 200 people onboard due to an 'ongoing incident' in the English Channel.

Emergency services raced out to the ship in the middle of the 21-mile stretch between Dover and Calais after reports of a fire.

It's understood the Isle of Innisfree ferry was almost halfway across the Channel when a blaze started in the boat's engine room, the Mirror reports.

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All passengers and crew travelling on the vessel are said to be safe and accounted for, with the fire now believed to have been contained and extinguished.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution told the Mirror: "I can confirm RNLI lifeboats from Ramsgate, Dover and Dungeness have launched to a fire onboard a ferry mid-way between Dover and Calais."

A spokesman for Irish Ferries said: "Irish Ferries can confirm that this evening, the crew on board its ship the Isle of Innisfree were alerted to a small fire in the ship’s engine room while the ship was sailing from Dover to Calais.

"Irish Ferries crews train regularly to deal with incidents at sea, and the company has put its training into action and the fire has been extinguished."

They added: "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."

A statement from HM Coastguard read "HM Coastguard was alerted just after 17:30 today (3rd March) to a fire in the engine room on a ferry that was mid-way from Dover to Calais. The vessel has confirmed that the fire has been extinguished but it is experiencing technical issues.

"All passengers and crew are accounted for and no injuries have been reported. RNLI Lifeboats from Dungeness, Dover and Ramsgate have been sent along with a French tug. The incident is ongoing."

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