Newark car carrier fire kills 2 firefighters, reports say

The vehicle carrier, owned by The Grimaldi Group, had 1,200 new and used vehicles and 157 containers aboard, according to a statement reported by The New York Times. The fire began as stevedores moved vehicles. Grimaldi said there were no electric cars or hazardous cargo on the ship, nor was it spilling fuel or in danger of sinking, the Times reported.

It was immediately unclear which automakers have vehicles on the ship.

In a statement, the shipping company said the vessel had about 28 crew members and “various units” were being loaded when the fire started.

The company said the crew activated on-board fire suppression systems and local firefighting service was alerted.

It is not known how the fire started but the company plans to launch a full investigation into the incident.

Newark fire chief Rufus Jackson said his department first got a call about the fire around 9:25 p.m. Wednesday. When the firefighters arrived they entered the vessel to extinguish the fire on the tenth and eleventh floor. As they were working, there were two mayday calls about missing men. Both were removed from the vessel by rescue crews but succumbed to injuries sustained.

This report will be updated.