Eight injured in fire aboard river cruise ship

On July 24, 2017, a fire broke out aboard the "A-Rosa Riva" on the Danube near Schönbühel, Melk municipality. The ship was enroute from Linz to Budapest. The fire spread so fast that attempts to extinguish it by the crew failed. After the ship was anchored and a distress call radioed, a B4 alert was issued, and 17 fire brigades, boats the Austrain army, the water rescue, the Red Cross, the river police and the ÖAMTC-Flight Rescue attended. The 150 passengers and 39 crew members were evacuated by another river cruise ship. Eight persons were taken to hospital due to smoke gas inhalatian, two of them with the helicopters Christophorus 15 which took one victim to Amstetten, and the "Christophorus 2" which took another to Krems with fire injuries. Among the injured were the crew members who initially had tried to fight the fire in the sauna. All other evacuees were taken to Dürnstein aboard the second river cruise ship, arriving there at 3.30 p.m. They were accomodated at the local station of the fire rescue. A crisis intervention team of the Red Cross was ready. The fire rescue meanwhile worked to put out the fire which caused severe damage.