The miserable run of luck for the Carnival Triumph cruise liner struck again yesterday after a fire forced engineers working on the ship to be evacuated.
A series of at least seven explosions hit two fuel barges on the Mobile River in Alabama on Wednesday evening local time, near to where the beleaguered Carnival Cruise Lines ship was undergoing repairs.
The blasts injured at least three people – although none were Carnival Cruise Line employees. No paying passengers were on the vessel, which was moored on the other side of the river.
The resulting fires eventually petered out on Thursday morning, having drawn local residents to watch the large blaze, which illuminated the night sky.
Coast Guard officials established a one-mile safety zone around the fires, to allow it extinguish safely. The cause of the accident is not clear, although the barges are thought to have been carrying raw fuel.