Croatian Navy missile boat catches fire at ship repair yard

A fire broke out onboard the Croatian Navy’s missile boat RTOP-41 Vukovar yesterday, the country’s defense ministry said. 

The incident occurred at the Iskra repair shipyard in Sibenik at around 10:50 a.m. (local time) on September 19.

As informed, the fire started while the 1985-built vessel was undergoing maintenance works at the shipyard.

The crew members of Vukovar who were at the scene spotted the fire and rescued a shipyard worker from the cabin in which the repairs were being carried out.

The crew members and firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze until 1:32 p.m., the local fire department said in a separate statement.

Three persons were sent to a hospital in Sibenik due to smoke inhalation. The fire caused material damage to the ship, the ministry confirmed.

An investigation into the causes of the fire has been launched, the ministry added.

Built at Finnish Wartsila shipyard, the 45-meter-long Vukovar (FNS 62 Oulu) was part of the Finnish Navy fleet before it was sold to the Croatian Navy.