• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Couple recall ‘scary’ moment cruise caught fire after being struck by lightning

Home> Lifestyle> Travel

Updated 10:20 1 Apr 2024 GMT+1Published 09:59 1 Apr 2024 GMT+1

Couple recall ‘scary’ moment cruise caught fire after being struck by lightning

They described their cabin filling with smoke and crying kids searching for their parents

Britt Jones

Britt Jones

Picture the scene - you're kicking back and relaxing on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, perhaps sipping a pina colada, when all of a sudden a bolt of lightning crashes into the boat and a fire breaks out.

That's what happened to this couple who experienced a terrifying moment during their Carnival cruise trip on a Caribbean excursion.

You can see footage of thick black smoke billowing out of the ship's funnel below:

Florence Torchia recalled watching a bolt of lightning hit the Carnival Freedom ship during a thunderstorm, causing it to catch fire.

At the time, the ship was 20 miles off the coast of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas when it all went wrong on Saturday (23 March).

Advert

The couple explained to Fox Weather that moments after the bolt hit, crew reported a fire in the ship’s exhaust funnel.

Joe Torchia said the pair were watching the fire on the TV, and that ‘they had a [camera] set up’.

Florence and Joe.
Fox Weather

When witnessing the blaze, he recalled saying, ‘oh my God, this doesn’t look good’.

Even though crews quickly responded to the fire, the couple said their hoses ‘didn’t reach the funnel’.

Advert

In a frenzy, the Torchias were trying to follow the captain's order to walk to the muster station, but were faced with ‘kids crying’ who were attempting to find their parents.

“It was scary,” Joe said.

But the nightmare had only just begun.

It was moments later that the exhaust stack would fall onto the 10th deck, sending a cloud of smoke ‘in our cabin and everything’.

The ship's funnel caught fire.
X/@breezebreeze_

Advert

However, despite the severity of the situation, the pair praised the cruise line’s communication as they ‘notified us of everything’, but it put a strain on the Torchias' cruise endeavours.

“I’d rather go to the Caribbean to a single destination,” Florence, a third-time cruise enthusiast, said.

Joe said it was the couple's third cruise, 'but it might be our last'.

Speaking to Fox Weather, a Carnival spokesperson said last week: "While we continue to investigate multiple eyewitness reports of a lightning strike, our technical team completed a thorough assessment during the ship’s visit to Freeport on Sunday."

The company admitted that the damage caused by the fire would need to be repaired immediately in order to stabilise the funnel and that it was ‘more than we first thought’.

Advert

The damage caused many excited holidaymakers to lose out on their trip after the 25 and 29 March cruises out of Port Canaveral were cancelled, though they were thankfully refunded.

The cruise line added: "We greatly appreciate our terrific guests for their outstanding cooperation and support."

LADbible has contacted Carnival cruises for a comment.

Featured Image Credit: Fox/X/@breezebreeze_

Topics: Cruise Ship, Travel

Britt Jones
Britt Jones

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
a day ago
2 days ago
  • 2 hours ago

    X-rated meaning behind clothing designs you might see on spicy cruises as 'rules explained'

    Spicy cruises have strict passenger rules that must be followed

    Lifestyle
  • a day ago

    NASA's ‘son of Concorde’ plane that will fly from London to New York in 3.5 hours gets big update

    The X-59 jet - which has been given the nickname 'son of Concorde' - is one step closer to taking off

    Lifestyle
  • 2 days ago

    People in stitches after seeing what got picked up as dad was going through airport security full-body scanner

    Randy Peterson's security fiasco fortunately didn't hold up his holiday too much

    Lifestyle
  • 2 days ago

    Sex expert explains why new ‘hotwifing’ trend has become so popular and how it’s ‘saving relationships’

    The trend is part of the growing world of ethically non-monogamous relationships

    Lifestyle
  • Cruise worker explained why employee parties are actually 'wild' despite 'weird rules' on board
  • Woman who 'lives' on cruise ship with fiancé and toddler reveals all the perks of bizarre lifestyle
  • Rules of 'spicy cruise' where people swap partners after couple explain what's classed as cheating
  • Girl falls overboard from Disney cruise before dad dives in after her