Belfast: Crew evacuated after ship fire at Harland and Wolff

Image caption, The ship was undergoing work at Belfast's Harland and Wolff shipyard when a fire broke out

About 50 firefighters were deployed to Belfast Harbour to deal with a fire on board a ship that was undergoing work at the Harland and Wolff shipyard.

The ship was evacuated on Thursday evening and fire crews were called to the site at Workman Road at 17:17 BST.

In a Facebook post, Harland and Wolff said the incident happened in a tank onboard the vessel and "smoke and a small fire" were detected.

It added that all of its crew "are safe and accounted for" and the fire is out.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) sent a specialist rescue team, a marine team and a number of supervisory officers to the incident in a dry dock.

In addition it deployed an aerial appliance, a foam appliance and four pumping appliances.

'Accidental'

It said it worked closely with Harland and Wolff throughout the operation and there were no reported injuries.

NIFRS added that the cause of the fire "has been determined as being accidental".

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The shipyard firm said it was "very grateful" to NIFRS crews for their attendance.

"Harland and Wolff takes safety of all personnel as the most important priority in each of its facilities," it added.

"Further investigations remain ongoing."