Ferry fire horror: Dozens injured as fire RIPS through passenger ship in Spain

Around 20 cars have been damaged after the blaze tore through the vessel which was forced to divert to Majorca, Spain.

The ferry was carrying 470 passengers and 137 crew and was evacuated after it reached dry land.

The ship, an Algerie Ferries vessel, arrived in Alcudia around midnight after the fire broke out in the cargo hold. Firefighters said 26 people, mostly thought to have suffered smoke inhalation, were being treated.

A field hospital has been set up in the port. The most serious cases were taken to Inca and Manacor.

A spokesman for a local emergency services coordination centre said in a tweet: “Final toll. Twenty-six people affected and three people taken to hospital.”

Most of the passengers are believed to be French and Algerian.

As well as firefighters and paramedics, Red Cross officials and Civil Protection workers have also been involved in the major emergency response operation.

The blaze is understood to have been brought under control by fire crews.

The boat travelling to Algeria from the French port city of Marseilles

Additional reporting by Gerard Couzens