New Delhi: A gigantic Panama-flagged cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury vehicles is burning near the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean since Wednesday afternoon. The ship's 22 member crew has been successfully evacuated and taken to a local hotel by the Portuguese Navy and Air Force, Bloomberg reported.
The ship named 'Felicity Ace' was sailing from Germany's Emden to the port of Davisville in the US state of Rhode Island. Now, it is being reported that the ship is drifting off the coast of the Azores, Portugal, in the North Atlantic Ocean.
In a rescue operation, crew members were taken by helicopter to Faial island, about 170 kilometers (100 miles) away and are staying at a hotel there. None of them was hurt.
The Bloomberg report also revealed there were 3,965 Volkswagen AG vehicles aboard the ship. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, the group manufactures its Volkswagen brand, as well as Porsche, Audi, and Lamborghini- all of which were in tow when the vessel set ablaze, the report stated.
Out of the 3,965 Volkswagen vehicles, the auto company said that 189 Bentleys and around 1,100 Porche cars were on board the ill-fated ship.
As of now, it is not clear how much of the 60,000-ton cargo ship's inventory was lost in the fire.
Luke Vandezande, a spokesperson for Porsche, said that the customers affected by the incident are being contacted by their automobile dealers.
According to the Portuguese Navy, fire was still burning and showed a photograph of large clouds of white smoke billowing out.