Four buildings totally destroyed
NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Following a ferocious fire that ripped through Princess Cays in Eleuthera on Monday night, the jobs of more than 100 Bahamians hang in limbo and thousands of cruise ship passengers, who were expected to make landfall at the cay today, will most likely have a change of plans.
Walter Evans, Director of Fire Services told Eyewitness News on Tuesday that shortly after 10:00 p.m. on Monday, fire officials on Eleuthera were summoned to the Princess Cays property to extinguish a massive blaze.
“Upon their arrival, they met heavy flames coming from a general area. Members of the South Eleuthera Emergency Partners (SEEP) were called out for assistance and they rendered assistance and were able to extinguish the fire,” he said.
According to Evans, the inferno ripped through nearly half-a-dozen structures in a matter of minutes.
“Four buildings were totally destroyed. We are still tabulating the value of the assets and as soon as that information is finalized we will be able to provide some more insight,” Evans said.
The fire chief said investigators are working feverishly to understand what led to the devastating fire.
“The thing is we are keeping an open mind with it until investigations are complete. Once investigators are complete they will be able to tell us definitively what caused this blaze,” Evans noted.
While officials try to wrap their minds around the fire mystery, Hank Johnson, Member of Parliament for Central and South Eleuthera said 101 employees who work at Princess Cays are waiting to hear from management of the Princess Cruise Lines as to what will happen with their jobs.
“There are some concerns about jobs, but the way that they are moving here now, the company is trying to put everything back together as soon as possible,” Johnson said.
Carnival Pride, a 2 680 passenger ship is scheduled to arrive in Princess Cays today, but Princess Cruises noted Tuesday that they are currently still assessing whether the damage from the fire will require the ship to skip the resort in its seven-day Bahamas cruise from Baltimore.
Johnson estimated that it might take the company an estimated three weeks to repair the damage.
