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Gibraltar fuel depot blast: Ten cruise passengers hurt | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Ten cruise ship passengers have been injured in an explosion and fire at the port of the British territory of Gibraltar, the cruise company says. | |
The guests, who received minor injuries, were treated on board the Independence of the Seas, a statement from Royal Caribbean said. | |
The blast took place at the territory's main fuel storage facility on the northern part of the harbour. | |
Police are investigating the cause of the explosion. | Police are investigating the cause of the explosion. |
"The lid of the [diesel] tank was blown off by the blast," a police spokesman told AFP news agency. | |
He added that the possibility of another explosion could not be ruled out. | |
'Pulled out to sea' | |
The spokesman also told the news agency that two people injured - one seriously - but did not specify whether they had been on the cruise ship or on shore at the time. | |
Dense black smoke could be seen from the city centre, and emergency workers were at the scene, according to AFP. | |
The Independence of the Seas - which arrived in Gibraltar on Tuesday morning - was forced to pull out to sea for safety, according to the statement. | |
They had been due to leave at 1600 local time (1400 GMT), just before the blast, according to AFP news agency. | |
Royal Caribbean added that two people had been on shore at the time of the explosion but had not been harmed. | |
The ship was on a 14-night itinerary that departed Southampton, England on Saturday. | |
Gibraltar is a 6.5 sq km (2.6 sq mile) British territory of around 30,000 people off the tip of southern Spain. | Gibraltar is a 6.5 sq km (2.6 sq mile) British territory of around 30,000 people off the tip of southern Spain. |