Five people have flown to Norway after a fire broke out on a Swedish cargo ship approximately 55 kilometers east of Bornholm on Friday night. This was reported by the Danish Defence Command's press officer to TV 2.
A Swedish rescue helicopter was first to arrive at the ship, called Sofia, and began pulling people out of the burning ship.
The entire crew has been flown to Kristianstad, says sea rescue manager at the Swedish Sea and Air Rescue Centre Emma Nykvist to the Swedish newspaper Expressen.
According to the Swedish Sea and Air Rescue Centre, there has also been an explosion on the ship, writes the newspaper Aftonbladet.
However, the risk of further explosions is assessed to be low.
- It is difficult to say, but the assessment is that it is a fairly stable situation at the moment, Emma Nykvist tells Expressen shortly after 10:30 p.m.
The cause of the fire is unknown, she states.
A Danish rescue helicopter and the Danish warship Absalon also flew and sailed out to the Swedish ship. Absalon was on its way home from an exercise when it heard the distress call from the Swedish Sofia, the Defence Command informs TV 2.
Therefore, the Danish ship chose to change course and sail towards Sofia.
The cargo ship was on its way from Poland to the Swedish city of Karlshamn, which is located approximately 150 kilometers northeast of Malmö, when the fire broke out, Expressen writes. It was to be loaded at the construction company Schweden Splitt in the village of Elleholm, which is located approximately ten kilometers from Karlshamn.
Expressen has spoken to Schweden Splitt's CEO, Gunnar Tonnvik, who says that the crew is Swedish.
- We were waiting for her (Sofia, ed.) to load tomorrow morning. I'm sorry to hear that. They come to us very often, he tells Expressen.
Absalon is one of the Danish Navy's five frigates. The Absalon class also includes Esbern Snare, while Iver Huitfeldt, Peter Willemoes and Niels Juel are among the three Iver Huitfeldt class frigates.
The Iver Huitfeldt class frigates are particularly suitable for air defense. The Absalon class frigates are particularly suitable for defense against submarines.
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