Three die in gas leak on cruise ship

[UbiDubi]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An apparent gas leak on a cruise ship killed three crew members Friday, a fire department spokeswoman said.

Seven other people were injured, including two ship doctors who were trying to help the others, fire spokeswoman Melissa Kelley said. Passengers were on board the ship but not affected by the leak.

 

Two of the injured were taken to hospitals.

 

The Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas is based in Los Angeles harbor and was docked when the methane leak occurred. The ship usually cruises to Baja California, according to the cruise line's Web site.

 

Registered in the Bahamas, the ship can carry up to 2,744 passengers and 856 crew.

 

Raw sewage was the apparent source of the leak, Kelley said.

[UbiDubi]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A methane gas leak aboard a cruise ship killed three crew members and injured 10 others as passengers got off the ship after their return from Mexico, authorities said.

No passengers were harmed in the accident Friday at Port of Los Angeles.

 

The injured crew members from the Monarch of the Seas were taken to hospitals for treatment of minor injuries, fire spokesman Lou Roupoli told reporters.

 

A statement from the Royal Caribbean cruise line said that five crew members were taken to hospitals and all were in good condition.

 

The discrepancy was not immediately explained.

 

The accident occurred after the ship returned from a cruise with about 2,500 passengers and 850 crew members aboard, Roupoli said. The ship makes regular trips down Mexico's Pacific coast.

 

Royal Caribbean said crew members were replacing a section of pipe connected to the ship's sewage system. The broken line spilled about five gallons of raw sewage and an unknown amount of methane gas in a propeller shaft tunnel, Roupoli said.

 

Royal Caribbean said the Coast Guard and local authorities were immediately notified and that the cruise line will fully assist in the investigation.

 

Passenger Yvonne Powers of Sacramento said she was about to disembark with her daughter when she saw men in hazardous-materials protective gear going downstairs.

 

"Nobody said anything to us," Powers said.

 

Later, after they had left the ship, there was a public address announcement that there had been a mishap and that "we've got it under control," she said.

 

The Monarch of the Seas was scheduled to depart later Friday on a cruise to the Mexican port of Ensenada.

 

The 14-year-old Monarch is based in Los Angeles harbor. Registered in the Bahamas, it and can carry up to 2,744 passengers and 856 crew, according to the company's Web site.

[britsbest]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three workers doing routine maintenance aboard a docked Royal Caribbean cruise ship died on Friday when a container of raw sewage spilled, releasing methane gas, Los Angeles Fire officials said.

 

The Monarch of the Seas, which is operated by Royal Caribbean and sails from the Port of Los Angeles, was docked when the accident happened.

 

Up to 10 other people complained of symptoms including watery eyes and difficulty breathing. Passengers were disembarking at the time and none of them were injured.

 

Those who died were overcome by fumes while they were working on one of the ship's propeller shafts when a 5-gallon (23-liter) container of raw sewage spilled in a part of the ship remote from any passengers, fire department spokeswoman Melissa Kelley said.

[UbiDubi]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Three crew members died after being exposed to toxic sewer gas as they repaired a waste pipe on a cruise ship that had just returned to the Port of Los Angeles. No passengers were involved.

 

Nineteen other members of the Monarch of the Seas' crew, including two ship's physicians and a nurse, were examined but most were not believed to have actually been exposed to the toxic gas, authorities said.

 

Passengers were disembarking from the Royal Caribbean line ship at the time of the incident and none were affected, the company said in a statement. "All guests have safely departed the ship," it said.

 

Officials first identified the gas as methane but later determined it was hydrogen sulfide, which occurs in sewage, said Barbara Yu, a supervising hazardous-materials specialist for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

 

The three crew members probably died within 30 seconds of encountering the gas, Yu said.

 

"It deadens your sense of smell so you don't even smell it," she said.

 

The identities of the victims were not immediately released.

 

The ship was departing at midnight Friday on a cruise to the Mexican port of Ensenada, several hours later than it was originally scheduled to leave port, officials at the Los Angeles harbor's Marine Exchange said.

 

The incident occurred midmorning after the vessel returned from a cruise with about 2,500 passengers and 850 crew members, said city Fire Department Battalion Chief Lou Roupoli. The ship makes regular trips down Mexico's Pacific coast.

 

Royal Caribbean said crew members were replacing a section of pipe connected to the ship's sewage system when the accident occurred.

 

The broken line expelled about five gallons of raw sewage and an unknown amount of gas in the starboard propeller shaft tunnel, Roupoli said.

 

Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Tony Migliorini said the repair crew could have worn special masks but they usually are not required for such operations.

 

The ship's first officer declared a medical emergency at 9:03 a.m. and an onboard rescue team with breathing apparatus retrieved the fallen workers, according to Roupoli and the cruise line statement.

 

The ship, which has primarily Norwegian officers, has crew members from all over the world.

 

The 14-year-old Monarch of the Seas is based in Los Angeles harbor. Registered in the Bahamas, it can carry up to 2,744 passengers and 856 crew, according to the company's Web site.

 

The ship is 880 feet long, 106 feet wide, cruises at 21 knots and has 14 passenger decks.