Halle (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A fire broke out on a tourist Waterbus in Halle near Suikerkaai, halting canal traffic. Emergency services confirmed no injuries in the early morning blaze.
The boat was wrecked, but no one was hurt.
The boat had not yet begun its daily tours when the fire started in the living room just before nine in the morning. The fire department arrived promptly.
“On site we found a fully developed fire in the hold. The two occupants were able to get to safety in time,”
says spokesman Wouter Jeanfils of the Flemish Brabant, Belgium, West fire zone.
“Our teams extinguished the fire, but the boat was largely destroyed. Our divers are checking whether the water is polluted.”
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. For the time being, the Suikerkaai has been closed and shipping traffic has completely stopped.
How did the waterbus fire affect transportation and daily commutes in Brussels?
This alternate mode of transportation for commuters and visitors to Brussels was disrupted when the fire on the Waterbus in Halle temporarily stopped shipping activity on the canal. Passengers who depend on the Waterbus for leisure or commuting trips were probably impacted by its suspension, which forced them to look for alternative, possibly slower or more crowded modes of transportation.
This is because the Waterbus provides a picturesque and traffic-free connection between Brussels and Vilvoorde (and occasionally to Halle) along the Senne canal.
In light of the Waterbus’s constrained schedule and fewer services due to financial uncertainty, the disruption would have made matters worse for customers, particularly those who had reservations.
