Officials: Engine fire leaves Carnival cruise ship stranded at sea

Thousands of passengers, crew members on board

HOUSTON – An engine fire on a Carnival cruise ship has left more than 4,000 passengers and crew stranded in the Gulf of Mexico, the cruse line said.

Officials said the Carnival Triumph was moving around 150 miles off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula when the fire broke out in the ship's engine room.

Carnival officials said the ship's automatic fire extinguishing systems activated and the fire was contained to the engine room. The fire knocked out the ship's propulsion and the ship is operating on emergency power.

No injuries were reported. There are 3,143 guests and 1,086 crew on board the ship, officials said. Carnival officials said all guests are being provided with food and refreshments and will receive a full refund inclusive of gratuities and any transportation costs.

60 to 70 coast guard members with sector Houston Galveston are headed out on the 210 foot Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous boat to help the crew and guests. The help was expected to arrive sometime after 12 a.m. Monday.

As crews work to restore power, a tugboat has been dispatched to the ship's location, officials said.

Although there were no injuries, Local 2 has learned Carnival allowed one person to hop on board the ship because they needed to take care of a medical issue.

In a statement, a Carnival spokesperson stated, "A tugboat is en route to the ship's location and will tow the vessel to Progreso, Mexico, which is the closest port to the ship's current location... The ship is expected to arrive in Progreso Wednesday afternoon and guests will be flown from there back to the U.S."

Carnival sent another cruise ship, the Carnival Elation, to transfer food to the guests and crew on board.

Carnival Triumph is currently on a four-day cruise that left Galveston, Texas on Thursday.

The next two scheduled Carnival Triumph cruises are cancelled and all guests will receive a refund and discounts for future cruise reservations.

Concerned family and loved ones of guests and crew may call 888.290.5095 or 305.406.5534.

KPRC Investigates discovered Carnival Triumph had one other mechanical failure back in 2010.