A Carnival Cruise Line ship caught fire Thursday morning during a visit to the Turks and Caicos islands, the company has confirmed.

In a statementshared onlineat 8:45 a.m. ET, Carnival Cruise Line verified that a fire broke out in the funnel of itsCarnival Freedomship while it was in Grand Turk.

The company says its “emergency response team quickly activated and extinguished” the flames.

Carnival Freedomdeparted from Port Canaveral in Florida on Monday for a five-day cruise, according to the company. It is due back on Saturday.

Social media users began sharing images of the blaze erupting from the ship’s “Whale Tail” around 7:45 a.m. ET.Photosandvideoof the fire showa massive plume of black smokebillowing into the air as crews worked to put out the flames.

Victor Sokolowicz/Bloomberg via Getty

The Carnival cruise ship “Freedom” sits docked at the port of Civitavecchia, Italy, on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2007. Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. are increasingly catering to U.S. tourists who want to dodge the rising euro while visiting Europe. The trend will help reverse two years of share declines for both companies.

One passenger told WESH 2 News that passengers onboard the ship put on life jackets, but said no evacuations were ultimately ordered.

At 10:15 a.m., Carnival Cruise Line shared a photo ofCarnival Freedomguests “onshore at Grand Turk along with guests fromMardi Gras, as scheduled.”

The cause of the fire remains unclear. Carnival Cruise Line said it will “continue to assess the situation.”

Built in 2007, the 948-footCarnival Freedomcan carry just over 3,500 passengers, according toCruise Mapper.

source: people.com