SINGAPORE – A passenger on board a ship where a fire broke out early on Feb 20, killing a crew member, has described the incident as “a truly terrible and traumatising experience”.

The World Legacy cruise ship, which had 271 passengers – including 139 Singaporeans – and 388 crew members on board,

was en route to Singapore when a fire broke out in the lounge area on deck nine at about 4am.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said an Indonesian crew member died.

He was a 23-year-old laundry attendant aboard the ship, said the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore in a statement on Feb 21.

Identified only by his initials PL, he was found collapsed in the lobby of deck nine by firefighters, the embassy said in response to queries by The Straits Times.

Despite medical assistance, the crew member was pronounced dead at 4.30am with the cause of death determined as cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to asphyxiation.

The embassy said it is working with the Singapore authorities and the ship’s agent to expedite Mr PL’s repatriation to Indonesia, as well as to ensure his next of kin receive his financial entitlement. All necessary procedures are conducted with due consideration for his family’s best interests, it added.

MPA said that all passengers were safely evacuated, and four people were taken to hospital.

The fire was extinguished by the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s (SCDF) marine firefighters. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The passenger, who gave her name as Quynh, said they were asked to stop all activities at about 4.20am.

“Everyone panicked,” she told The Straits Times. “That’s when the loudspeaker announced the fire and asked everyone to move to deck seven.”

She added that when asked, crew members told them not to worry and that everything was fine.

However, the 31-year-old said she noticed smoke starting to spread down to deck three.

“When we reached deck seven, there were crew (members) standing at the door, asking everyone to put on life vests and move to the outside deck,” she said.

With smoke filling the deck, she told ST that she and her companions – her husband and their friends – got scared and started considering the worst-case scenario.

The police coast guard arrived at about 5am and the SCDF maritime firefighting and rescue crew at about 6am.

“It wasn’t until 7.10am that we were told to move down to deck three to wait for the rescue boat,” she said.

“And there, we had to jostle and wait from around 7.20am to 9.20am before we could board the rescue boat.”

A video Ms Quynh shared on Tiktok shows passengers wearing life vests gathered on one of the decks.

The video later pans to show people moving to an upper deck.

According to Ms Quynh, the passengers were standing from about 4.20am to about 9.20am.

“Four hours of cold, wet, exhaustion and fatigue,” she said. “Some (people) also suffered from smoke and difficulty breathing.”

She added that she and one of her friends experienced headaches, giddiness and sore throats after breathing in smoke.

“It was a truly terrible and traumatising experience,” she said.

MPA said that the vessel is anchored at Raffles Reserved Anchorage.

  • Additional reporting by Calista Wong