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Hundreds rescued from burning ferry off Puerto Rico

Posted at 4:41 PM, Aug 17, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-17 16:41:31-04

Hundreds of passengers were rescued Wednesday from a burning ferry off Puerto Rico.

A fire in the engine room of the Caribbean Fantasy, a passenger ship that travels between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, forced passengers to abandon the ship Wednesday morning.

Of the 512 passengers, 50 remain on board waiting to disembark to US Coast Guard boats, the Coast Guard’s Twitter account said shortly after 10 a.m. ET.

No major injuries have been reported, the Coast Guard’s Jonathan Lally told CNN.

Three adults and a child are being treated for minor injuries, CNN affiliate Univison reports.

Pictures and video on social media show passengers evacuating the large ship to the smaller Coast Guard vessels.

Medical professionals are on hand in San Juan to assist passengers, Puerto Rico Fire Department Chief Angel Crespo said at a press conference.