Ponant's Le Boréal Suffered Fire

le solealOn November 18, a fire broke out aboard Le Boréal. Ponant has said that the December 10 departure on Le Boreal has been canceled. 

The incident was contained and the ship was evacuated as a precautionary measure by its Captain, Ponant said in its latest update on the situation. The cruise line reports no of the passengers or crew were injured. The Ponant crew and teams mobilized to repatriate passengers, who flew from Port Stanley the following weekend on flights chartered by the company.

The ship was sailing just north of the Falkland Islands on its way to South Georgia at the time the fire broke out, Sky News reports. Two British Royal Air Force helicopters and two other support helicopters airlifted 79 people from the deck of the ship and from two life rafts in the water immediately following the incident. A Royal Navy ship also rescued two more lifeboats with over 200 people onboard. 

Le Boréal is now at quay in the small East Cove military port, south of the Falklands capital, Port Stanley, where Ponant’s technical services are assessing the necessary repairs. L’Austral, situated nearby, has resumed its cruise in Antarctica.