(15 Sep 2011) SHOTLIST
1. Long shot of smoke billowing from MS Nordlys
2. Pan along side of ship showing passengers on deck, pan back to smoke billowing from stern
STORYLINE
An "intense" fire in a cruise ship''s engine room killed two crewmen on Thursday, injured nine others and forced over 200 passengers to evacuate a popular cruise off Norway''s craggy western coast. Police suspect an on-board explosion.
Thick black smoke billowed from the stern of the boat, the MS Nordlys, of Norway''s Hurtigruten line even before it pulled into the dock at Aalesund, 230 miles (375 kilometres) northwest of the capital of Oslo. Police sealed off parts of the town as the smoke engulfed nearby buildings.
The ship''s emergency evacuation began after the fire started at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT), with more than 100 passengers piling into lifeboats in the frigid waters. The rest of the ship''s 207 passengers and 55 crew were evacuated at the dock at Aalesund, with some crew staying on board to fight the fire.
Aalesund Hospital said nine people had been admitted, two with serious burns and smoke injuries. Police said all of the injured and dead were members of the ship''s crew.
Passengers said the cruise ship, which was travelling north from the city of Bergen, had organised an orderly evacuation.
The chief of Aalesund''s fire brigade, Geir Thorsen, described the fire as "big and intense." He could not confirm reports that the ship''s fire-extinguishing system did not work, but said its electricity system was knocked out.
Over six hours after the fire began, Thorsen said firefighters were now in control of it, but the ship was taking in water and listing 10 degrees. Two units of firefighters specialising in offshore fires were involved in the operation.
The MS Nordlys plies Norway''s western coast on the popular 1,500-mile (2,500-kilometre) cruise between the southwestern city of Bergen and the northern town of Kirkenes, high above the Arctic Circle near the Russian border.
The route features spectacular fjords, mountains, islands and Arctic wildlife, and carries both tourists eager to see the scenery and locals and cargo from coastal cities and hamlets.
Aalesund, with a population of 42,000, is an Art Nouveau town once voted the prettiest in Norway.
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