A 49-year-old man died in a fire on a ship in Njarðvík harbour, in Southwest Iceland, last night. Vísir reports that he was a Polish national and is survived by a wife and teenage son living in Poland. Seven people were on board the ship last night when the fire broke out, as it was scheduled to head out to sea this morning.
Firefighters were called out to the scene at 2:10 AM this morning. Four people on the boat escaped of their own accord and were unharmed. Two were taken to Suðurnes Health Centre, where one is in an induced coma. Another person sustained burns on their back in the fire.
The man who died on board was the ship’s cook, and had worked on the ship, called the Grímsnes GK-555, for around a decade. “He has lived in Iceland for nearly two decades, probably. He moved home to Poland with his family when his wife became ill, but has still worked here despite that, except for one year during Covid. He’s probably been with me for ten years,” stated Sigvaldi Hólmgrímsson, the ship’s captain.
Sigvaldi says he doesn’t know how the fire broke out and has yet to speak with police or firefighters. “I’ve heard different stories from all of my men. When something like this happens, you’re not thinking of anything other than getting yourself out. There was so much fire onboard that to my understanding they could barely see.”
This is the second time the Grímsnes GK-555 makes headlines this month. A crew member on the ship smuggled a 15-year-old girl on board in early April. The crew member was later fired.
