Passengers aboard the fire-ravaged Stena Scandica off Gotska Sandön will be evacuated. The ship is running without power and severe weather is making previous towing plans more difficult.

The first to be evacuated will be children and people with disabilities, and probably by helicopter, says Johan Wahlström, press spokesperson at the Swedish Maritime Administration, to TV4.

Of the 299 people on board, 241 are passengers, the Swedish Maritime Administration writes in a press release.

The ship has suffered a power outage due to the fire and is slowly drifting south. A tugboat is en route from Nynäshamn and is expected to arrive around 8:40 p.m.

The fire alarm was raised at 12.40. Several rescue boats, pilots and helicopters were dispatched. A Gotland ferry en route to Visby also docked to assist Stena Scandica during an evacuation.

According to the Swedish Maritime Administration, refrigerated containers on car decks were on fire. There was smoke but no open flames. The ferry's own fire department managed to extinguish the fire.

”"We have no information about injured people," says Lisa Mjörning at the Swedish Maritime Administration to TT.

The Swedish Maritime Administration, the Swedish Maritime Rescue Society and the Coast Guard have participated in the operation.

Stena Scandica operates the route between Nynäshamn and Ventspils in Latvia.

The ship was built in 2005 but has since been renovated and rebuilt, according to Stena Line's website.

Source: TT-DI.SE