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PANIC-struck cruise ship passengers were confined to their cabins when a fire broke out on the £850million Queen Mary 2.
They were woken by alarms at 6am as crew tackled the blaze below their accommodation.
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ReutersTravellers were ordered to stay in their cabins but could still smell smoke — sparking fears of an inferno at sea.
Although crew dealt with the blaze quickly, a source said: “Fire at sea is about the worst scenario for holidaymakers. It has left everyone freaked out.
“Passengers could smell smoke in their cabins so the panic felt by some was totally understandable.”
Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 — the world’s longest, tallest and most expensive cruise ship — was heading to Mauritius when the fire broke out on Thursday morning.
It had been at sea for four days since leaving Colombo in Sri Lanka on April 1.
The Sun understands the fire started when a compressor overheated in an area containing the ship’s engines, pumps, compressors, sewage and electrical tanks.
Our source said: “At first, everyone thought it was a practice drill. But it was far from that. The blaze was beneath the accommodation areas and the alarm was raised at 6am. It was chaos.”
But they added: “Emergency protocol kicked in and worked a treat with the crew behaving calmly and professionally.”
Queen Mary 2, which can take up to 2,600 passengers, docked in Port Louis, Mauritius, yesterday ahead of its voyage to Southampton on April 28 via South Africa, Spain and Portugal.
It is mandatory for staff to contact the authorities about such incidents on board.
Cunard yesterday confirmed to The Sun that there was a small fire that was extinguished immediately.
It insisted no guest services on board were affected.
The 150,000-tonne, 1,132ft ship was built in 2004.
Two nights in its luxury suites cost £549 a person.
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