Ship carrying nearly 3,000 cars ablaze off Dutch coast, crew member dead

Smoke rises as a fire broke out on the cargo ship Fremantle Highway, at sea on July 26, 2023. Coastguard Netherlands/Handout via REUTERS

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -A fire blazed on a cargo ship off the Dutch coast with nearly 3,000 vehicles on board on Wednesday, killing one member of the crew and injuring several others, the coastguard said.

Several crew members were forced to jump overboard after the fire began on Tuesday night on the 199-metre (655-foot) Panama-registered Fremantle Highway as it was en route from Germany to Egypt.