Crowded ferry stranded in Baltic Sea

A Lithuanian-flagged ferry carrying 335 people is powerless in the Baltic Sea although but no one is reported injured, a spokesman for Danish company DFDS has confirmed.

The ferry company said the malfunction aboard the Regina Seaways produced smoke, which triggered the ship's fire extinguishing system in the engine room.

"There was vibration and there was smoke, but no fire was noticed," the spokesman said, contradicting earlier reports from the Lithuanian military of a fire on board the vessel.

The spokesman could not say whether the passengers and crew were in any danger and said the ferry would have to be towed to the Lithuanian port town of Klaipeda, where it was heading from Kiel in Germany when it experienced technical problems.

Lithuania's Defence Ministry said "the fire has been extinguished" and that four Lithuanian military ships were heading towards it.

The Lithuanian military sent a helicopter to the vessel and has two more on standby if needed, a spokesman for the Lithuanian air force said.