Crew Airlifted from Burning Cargo Ship off Bornholm

A Sweden-flagged general cargo ship caught fire on Thursday evening off Bornholm, aDanish island in the Baltic Sea, prompting the evacuation of its crew members.The cause of the fire on board the vessel remains unclear.

The Swedish Maritime Administration said that the crew issued a mayday seeking assistance, and Danish rescue teams immediately launched an operation.

The cargo ship was en route from Poland to Karlshamn in Sweden when the fire broke out.

The Swedish Maritime Administration’s helicopter was first to arrive on the scene and successfully took them to safety.

As Bornholm is close to Sweden, the Swedish Maritime Administration collaborated with the Danish colleagues and the helicopter based in Kristianstad immediately went out to the scene.

“We are happy that the operation went quickly and smoothly and that all crew members are unharmed”, says Emma Nykvist, rescue leader.

The Swedish Maritime Administration highlighted the close cooperation between the different organizations to conduct the safe rescue of the crew.

As it is reported, the rescue operation was successfully carried out and no one from the crew was injured.

^{Video credit: Swedish Maritime Administration}