Cars stuck on grounded ferry 'scratched and dented'

Passengers left without luggage or transport for nearly five days before vehicles were lifted out of crashed Baleària ship by crane

CARS trapped on the grounded Baleària ferry which was evacuated last week have finally been freed, but most have been damaged in the process.

The 70 or so passenger vehicles, nearly all containing holidaymakers' luggage, had to be air-lifted by crane as the Pilar del Río ferry, which had just returned from Ibiza, remains stuck in the port.

Several car owners found scratches on the bodywork and hub caps, fenders caved in, and other surface damage.

In response to their complaints, Baleària has said it will pay the full cost of repairs.

Passengers, who were summoned to Dénia between Thursday and Saturday to collect their vehicles, have been told to take their cars to the ferry firm's insurance company's recommended repairers where an engineer will assess and report on the damage.

Having seen their holiday plans scuppered when the ferry ran aground just before midnight last Saturday, the 393 travellers on board were nearly all forced to spend the night sleeping in hard chairs or on the floor in the terminal in Dénia port before being moved on by coach at 08.00 the next morning.

One man was 'lucky' enough to twist his ankle during the evacuation in multiple lifeboats, meaning he was sent to hospital and then transferred to a guest house in La Xara with a taxi to Alicante airport paid for.

Those who brought their cars with them did not even have a change of clothing for nearly five days because of their luggage being locked inside until all vehicles were hoisted out by 14.30 on Thursday.

A caravan and two motorbikes were not removed until Friday.

The caravan owners had planned to sail to Dénia from Ibiza then drive to Benicàssim (Castellón province) for the Rototom Sunsplash Festival, but ended up missing it as they had no transport or accommodation.

Plans were drawn up at the weekend to move the ferry by shipping recovery specialists Ardentia Marine.

But as it is so tightly wedged in and measurements to the exact millimetre are needed, the operation is set to be very delicate.

It is expected to have been removed by the end of this week.