Crew member dies as fire rips through ship carrying nearly 3,000 cars in the North Sea

A crew member has died after a fire ripped through a cargo ship carrying 3,000 cars in the North Sea.

The 'out of control' blaze ignited at midnight on Wednesday, about 17 miles north of the Dutch island of Ameland, as the ship sailed from the German port of Bremen to Port Said in Egypt.

Onboard were 25 electric cars, which exploded and made the flames even more difficult to contain.Boats and helicopters were used to rescue the 23 crew members, some of whom were injured after they tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire, the coast guard said.

“Currently there are a lot of vessels on scene to monitor the situation and to see how to get the fire under control," coast guard spokesperson Lea Versteeg said.

"But it’s all depending on weather and the damage to the vessel. So we’re currently working out to see how we can make sure that ... the least bad situation is going to happen.”

The coastguard believe the ship could sink, but said it is preparing for "all scenarios" and hopes it will be able to get the vessel to a safe location.

The cause of the blaze is not known, and it is not clear how the crew member's death occurred.

The ship is still ablaze, as of late Wednesday morning, and images show a long plume of gray smoke drifting over the sea from the ship.

The coast guard said salvage companies and water authorities were “looking at the best ways to limit the damage as much as possible".

Authorities in Germany were also on alert, German news agency dpa reported.

“We are monitoring the situation,” a spokesperson for the German sea disaster command in the northern city of Cuxhaven said, adding that it had offered support to the Dutch authorities.

He said rescue ships and task forces were ready to help if needed, but that no decision had been made on whether to send them.

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