Cruise Ship Passengers Forced To Jump In Shark-Infested Waters After Boat Catches Fire

Scary cruise trip news said many American tourists on a cruise boat near Australia had to jump into shark-infested waters in the middle of the night to save their lives from the burning boat.

Nearly 30 people jumped into the waters in the Galapagos Islands although they were not part of any adventure cruises.

According to the latest cruise news update, there were no casualties and finally, all the passengers and crew escaped unhurt.

They included 16 vacationers and 11 crew members. They were on an eight-day cruise. The boat was engulfed with smoke reportedly from a fire in the engine room. A video showed scared passengers scrambling to pull out life jackets fearing for safety.

Video of the evacuation

The timely video was shot by Lisa Bartley from ABC station KABC onboard with her friend Dana. They filmed the panic moments in detail.

“All hell broke loose,” Dana said

Struggling to breathe, the passengers had no option but to evacuate despite the scare of having seen sharks in the water.

Making matters worse, the two life rafts did not inflate on time prompting passengers and crew to swim toward the nearest island.

Guide Malena had to call out names to ensure everyone was safe.

The terrified passengers had to stay in the shark-infested waters for an hour. Eventually, life raft inflated.

“Once we got in the life raft I knew we were going to be safe,” Bartley said.

She appreciated the crew. One of them even took off his sweatshirt and gave it to Dana and other girls who were battling the cold waters.

Finally, the rafts inflated and the group was rescued by a sailboat some two hours after jumping from the burning boat.

The boat fire’s reason is under investigation. The vessel has been repaired and pushed into service, according to the tour company.

Fire hazard in cruise trips

According to a British cruise officer Jay Herring, cruise business is expanding with lucrative cruise deals; alongside onboard risks also needs better tackling.

In his book The Truth About Cruise Ships, Herring wrote about the chance of a fire breaking out on a cruise ship.

“The most dangerous and likely thing to go wrong is an onboard fire,” Herring said in the book.

However, the consolation is that “major incidents are extremely rare.”

Herring notes that most ships employ dedicated firemen for fire fighting, who stay equipped with protective clothing including masks and air tanks.

Restrictions and precautions are also in place onboard cruise ships, the former official explained.

“With tile floors and metal walls, the laundry areas are less combustible than the cabins which had carpet, drapes, and bedding. Candles are strictly forbidden because an open flame was an active fire waiting to spread," the book mentioned.

Despite safety measures in place, fires do happen every year, according to Herring. But they are very small in scale and are rapidly dealt with.