Star Princess fire: one dead, eleven injured

Fire broke out aboard Star Princess at about 3 a.m. local time as the ship sailed between Grand Cayman and Montego Bay, Jamaica. According to Princess, one passenger died from cardiac arrest, two suffered serious smoke inhalation, and nine had minor smoke inhalation symptoms.

The fire is out, its cause remains unknown for now, and the ship is docked safely in Jamaica where a full damage assessment is being done. The fire started in a passenger stateroom, which points to smoking as a likely suspect, and the blaze spread to adjoining cabins before the ship's crew brought it under control.

Passengers had been awakened by the ship's public address system and called to muster stations as a precaution during the emergency.

The ship had onboard 2,690 passengers and 1,123 crew members. It remains unclear at this moment whether the ship can sail or not without repair, whether all passengers onboard have been accounted for, and one unconfirmed report suggests a plan is underway to accommodate passengers in local hotels.

Immediate family members of passengers can call a special hotline set up by Princess at 800-693-7222.

UPDATE 3/23/06 1:45 PM: This was a major fire. Having seen photos of the ship at MSNBC.COM it is clear that about 100 staterooms were seriously damaged, and the ship will need time out of service to be repaired.

UPDATE 3/23/06 5:45 PM: One of our Blackberry-toting passengers onboard Star Princess reports that the crew is doing a great job taking care of everybody. Meanwhile, Princess has announced that the current cruise is being terminated, with the passengers being flown home over the next couple of days at Princess' expense. Most people will remain onboard the ship, while those in the damaged staterooms will be accommodated in hotels. The passengers will receive full refunds plus discount toward a future cruise. Star Princess' next cruise, March 26, is cancelled, with the status of cruises beyond that time to be announced later.