Puerto Rico: Fire rips through cruise ship forcing evacuation of 500

Over 500 passengers had to be evacuated from a cruise ship off the northern coast of Puerto Rico near San Juan, Wednesday, after a fire broke out aboard the vessel. While all of the passengers of the Caribbean Fantasy have been rescued, with no fatalities reported, emergency services were still attempting to extricate dozens of crew members from the ship.
US Coast Guard personnel brought passengers from the ship to San Juan harbour, with those seriously injured being rushed to hospital. According to Angel Crespo, director of Puerto Rico's Emergency Management Agency, 256 people were treated following their rescue. Heat stroke, shock and dehydration were among the main causes of complaint. On the harbour jetty, emergency services could be seen carrying dozens of injured passengers away on stretchers. Ten people were hospitalised.
The fire was reportedly started in the ship's engine room when a hose carrying fuel split open and caught fire, which later spread to the rest of the vessel.