Odyssey instead of vacation

Passengers trapped: Fire on Mallorca ferry

The passengers were trapped on the ferry for 24 hours. The cause was a fire in the engine room.(Bild: X.com/VOSTcvalenciana)

350 passengers on a ferry had to wait 24 hours on the high seas after a fire broke out in the engine room of the "Tenacia" on its way from Valencia to Palma de Mallorca. 

Instead of reaching Mallorca on Monday morning, the passengers were split up onto replacement ships and taken back to the port of departure in Valencia. 

What happened: The car ferry had set sail on Sunday evening, but shortly after midnight and halfway along the route, the "Tenacia" had to stop because a fire had broken out in the engine room.

Initially, attempts were made to fight the fire with on-board resources. However, the flames could not be completely extinguished.

Firefighters were flown in by helicopter and passengers had to leave the ferry by rescue hose.(Bild: X.com/VOSTcvalenciana)

Evacuation of the ship ordered
According to Bild, the captain finally ordered the evacuation of the ship on Monday afternoon. Firefighters were flown in by helicopter and passengers had to leave the ferry by rescue hose and slide down onto the lifeboats. 

They were then taken back to Valencia, where the damaged ship, on which the passengers' cars and luggage had remained, was also towed.

The cause of the fire was initially unknown; no one was injured.