Fire breaks out on board huge cruise ship docked off the coast of Corfu
- Fire broke out on board cruise liner MSC Lirica around 3.30pm local time
- Videos showed two lifeboats on fire and smoke billowing from side of vessel
- Fire crews were called and brought the blaze under control around an hour later
- Ship had been in port since January 30 on a winter break, local media reported
A fire has broken out on board a cruise ship docked off the coast of Corfu.
Videos showed flames and black smoke billowing from the side of the MSC Lirica around 3.30pm local time on Friday.
There were 51 members of the ship’s crew on board at the time the fire started, but no injuries were reported.
A fire has broken out on board the MSC Lirica as it sat docked off the coast of Corfu on Friday, with smoke billowing from the side of the vessel
The ship was not carrying any passengers due to Covid shutdowns and had been idle in the port since January 30, Greek news site Kathimerini reported.
The fire is believed to have broken out inside an empty lifeboat on deck six of the ship, a spokesman said, though it is unclear exactly how it started.
Fire crews were called and by around 4.30pm appeared to have brought the blaze under control, though the side of the ship was heavily damaged.
A spokesman for MSC cruises said the ship has not taken passengers since March last year due to Covid shutdowns.
At the time of the fire the ship was in a ‘warm layup’ – meaning it was docked with a skeleton crew on board to keep the boat maintained.
Video showed two lifeboats attached to the side of the ship had caught fire around 3.30pm local time, before firefighting vessels arrived