In a statement, Royal Caribbean said that the explosion occurred at 3:37 p.m. local time. Immediately after the blast, the ship retracted the gangway and moved a safe distance from the dock.
The ship itself did not sustain any significant damage and is currently sailing to its next port of call. Independence is set to spend tomorrow at sea and arrive in Cannes, France, on Thursday.
The Gibraltar Chronicle reported that there were also two injuries onshore, one of them serious. The AFP added that dense black smoke could be seen from the city center.
Gabrielle Phillips, a Gibraltar resident who was at a playground with her son when the tank exploded, characterized the scene as "surreal." "At first there were gasps from the cruise ship passengers," she wrote in an e-mail to Cruise Critic. "But then they just watched on, very chilled out. My son didn't want to leave the playground, but there was a second container and I didn't want to be around for that explosion as well."
Check Cruise Critic for further updates.
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