By Associated Press Reporter and Dailymail.com Reporter From Daily Mail UK

Crew member burned as mechanical fire breaks out aboard Royal Caribbean cruise ship as it pulls into port in Jamaica

Freedom of the Seas was pulling Falmouth, Jamaica, Wednesday
A fire broke out in a mechanical area but was put out
A thick plume of grey smoke could be seen coming from an upper deck
One crew member was treated for first-degree burns
Passengers were moved to assembly stations but not evacuated
The ship will continue its itinerary as planned, it is believed

A fire broke out on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship Wednesday as it approached Jamaica, burning one crew member and causing passengers to be sent to evacuation stations with life jackets.

Royal Caribbean International said fire suppression equipment quickly doused the blaze in a mechanical area of the Freedom of the Seas as it arrived at the Miami-based company’s cruise ship port in the northern town of Falmouth.

‘The fire was not very big and none of the visitors had to be evacuated,’ Jamaica Tourism Minister Wykeham McNeill said.

However, despite the fire apparently being contained, video taken at the scene shows a giant plume of grey smoke appearing to come from one of the upper decks.

Passengers put on life jackets and gathered on the deck after the plume of smoke was reported

The video, taken from the Falmouth pier, showed the plume of smoke billowing from a section of the towering 15-deck ship as it arrived at the $220million port that opened in 2011.

The ship can accommodate 3,634 passengers and 1,300 crew, however it is unclear how many were onboard at the time.

One crew member was treated for a first-degree burn, but Royal Caribbean did not immediately provide more information about the injured employee.

‘The ship’s fire suppression system was immediately activated, which contained and extinguished the fire,’ Royal Caribbean communications director Cynthia Martinez told ABC News.

The company said all passengers were accounted for and none were injured.

The passengers were told to go to their assembly stations.

By early afternoon, the passengers were able to ‘leave the ship to enjoy Falmouth’, the company said on Twitter.

Royal Caribbean said all systems were operating normally on the docked ship.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known and no other details about the investigation were available.

The ship is expected to continue with its regular itinerary, with the next port call on Thursday in the Cayman Islands.

The 1,112-foot Freedom of the Seas is on a seven-night cruise that departed from Port Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday.
IMAGES:
Blaze: Royal Caribbean said a fire in a mechanical space on the Freedom of the Seas was extinguished quickly. A video from the scene showed a plume of smoke coming from an upper deck
Extinguished: One crew member was treated for a first-degree burn, but Royal Caribbean did not immediately provide more information about the injured employee
Fire breaks out onboard Freedom of the Seas cruise ship
Passengers put on life jackets and gathered on the deck after the plume of smoke was reported
Passengers remained gathered at assembly stations while the fire was extinguished. One woman is pictured taking a nap on her life jacket
Passengers gathered on the ship. Everyone was accounted for and no evacuation had to be made
A passenger waits at an assembly point as the fire is extinguished. The ship is to continue its regular itinerary

For more on this story and video go to: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3171404/Crew-member-burned-mechanical-fire-breaks-aboard-Royal-Caribbean-cruise-ship-pulls-port-Jamaica.html#ixzz3gjEiDSJ8