Fire drama foils Reef visit
A look back at significant moments in the North’s history
TERRIFIED passengers jumped into Cleveland Bay as flames engulfed the $2.7 million Reef Link II catamaran, and it all unfolded in front of hundreds of horrified onlookers.
The Great Barrier Reef-bound catamaran was taking 53 passengers on the first leg of its journey when an engine room burst into flames three kilometres into Cleveland Bay.
With fire racing through the vessel, the eight-member crew launched life rafts before telling passengers to jump for their lives.
Some who were terrified of the ocean had to be pushed into the sea.
A mayday call by skipper Harry Webster triggered a massive rescue operation, with a flotilla of private craft racing to the stricken catamaran.
Passengers sat out their wait for rescue in the emergency rafts, or were plucked from the water by other vessels.
Private craft towed the inflatable rafts back to Townsville harbour as crowds lined The Strand and breakwater.
Fire brigade officers battled the fire from the bow of Westmark’s Magnetic Explorer after Reef Link II’S crew gave up a losing battle and leapt for their lives.
The catamaran had been in service for only seven weeks.
It was to service the multi-milliondollar Four Seasons Floating Hotel to open at John Brewer Reef, 70km off Townsville, later this year.
Until then the catamaran making daily trips to the Reef.
It was on the Townsville to Magnetic Island leg of the journey when it caught fire.
Townsville Fire Brigade station officer Allan Bahr said the brigade was notified at 9.59am. was
Officers loaded portable firefighting equipment on to the foredeck of Westmark’s Magnetic Explorer, another catamaran ferry, and rushed to the blazing craft.
They arrived alongside Reef Link II at 10.39am and the flames were extinguished at 12.01pm.
“My only question is what would have happened if the fire had started a fair way out to sea,” Mr Bahr said.
Passengers were taken to Coastguard headquarters and were made as comfortable as possible.
No one was injured although some passengers were suffering from shock.
Rescuers said no passenger spent more than 10 minutes in the water.
Graham and Laura Stieler, from Kirwan, were among the rescued passengers and they described the disaster as it unfolded.
“We heard a crew member call for the on-board fire suppressor, but nothing happened,” Mr Stieler said.
“When we left the scene there was flames coming out of Reef Link II. “The crew were tremendous. “There was no panic. They ushered us off the boat.
“As the drama got worse and worse, they increased their urgency.”
Greg Mead, 18, spent about 10 minutes in the water.
“We were only about 10 minutes out of port when the smoke was noticed,” he said.
“The crew calmly instructed us to put on safety jackets, then they placed the life rafts in the water and asked us to leave.”
Robert Maxwell, from Condon, also described the calm evacuation.
“We were out the back,” he said. “Then we saw the smoke and heard someone yell for the fire extinguisher.
“The crews first told us to come inside and then out the front.
“They gave us our life jackets, pushed the rafts overboard and we jumped into the water.
“It was terrifying. When I jumped all I could think about was sharks. “But the crew did an excellent job.” A pair of Swiss tourists, who were on their way to see the Reef for the first time, said they would put the fire down as an experience.
“We will just have to try again,” they said.