More than 200 passengers had to be evacuated from a cruise ship after an intense fire killed two crew members and injured a dozen other people.

The MS Nordlys was off the coast of Alesund, western Norway, when the disaster struck at around 9am on 16 September.

It’s though an explosion sparked a fire in the engine room that sent smoke racing through the ship, according to the Daily Telegraph. After the alarm was raised, the 207 passengers were ordered onto the deck to be evacuated, many on lifeboats.

The ship’s hull was damaged causing the ship to gently make its way into port, where the rest of passengers and crew were taken off.

It was at the port that the two dead crew members were discovered, with the injured suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.
 

Norwegian police said they suspected there had been an explosion in the machine room.

Head of the fire brigade in Alesund, Geir Thorsen, said the blaze was “big and intense” and that there were “no indications that the fire had spread to other rooms” in the ship.

The marine department of the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board (AIBN) has opened an investigation into the accident.