Video: Fire breaks out on Carnival Freedom cruise ship near Bahamas after suspected lightning strike

A video released by a person on board the Carnival Freedom cruise ship shows flames billowing out of a funnel while onlookers comment "that's not good". The footage shows a fire on the port side of the ship's exhaust funnel at around 3.15pm local time on Saturday, March 23.

Witnesses reported the ship may have been struck by lightning, but that has not been confirmed and the cause is still being investigated, according to the cruise line. Heath Barnes, of Woodsboro, Maryland, USA, said: "I am traveling with my nephew and his two friends and they came running into the cabin and said the ship is on fire.

"I thought they were giving me a hard time but I got up and went out on the balcony and sure enough the flames and smoke was pouring out of the tail. This is my 18th cruise with Carnival and this was the most interesting one. It’s not their fault, it’s mother nature."

According to a statement by the cruise line, the fire appeared to be extinguished about two hours after it ignited. There were no reported injuries to guests, but two firefighting crew members were treated for minor smoke inhalation.

The port side portion of the exhaust funnel fell onto deck 10 of the ship as a result of the fire, according to Carnival. The ship was about 20 miles off Eleuthera Island, Bahamas, when the fire broke out. The blaze started as the ship headed to Freeport, the statement added. A tannoy announcement stated that the vessel was turned towards the heavy rain in the area to put out the flames. The cruise line said passengers were able to attend dinner as planned Saturday night. The US Coast Guard has been notified about the incident.