The boat reportedly belongs to White Island Tours, according to the NZ Herald. Media reports suggest there were up to 53 passengers and 7 crew members aboard the ship at the time the fire broke out.
Coast Guard and emergency services rushed to the coast of Whakatane after police received a call reporting the situation at around 3:45 pm local time (2:45 am GMT).
Passengers are reportedly being evacuated to another smaller tour vessel, while several boats could also be seen sailing to the shore on a live stream put up by the local Coastguard website.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
A crowd of onlookers has gathered on the shore, with some witnesses saying they could see people on the bow of the burning vessel. Katee Shanks, a reporter for Rotorua Daily Post, described the situation as “awful, the flames are huge and are taking over the ship.”
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Source Article from https://www.rt.com/news/329264-nz-passenger-ship-fire-whakatane/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
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