Bush's fault.
We need a congressional committee to investigate this.
/s
Firefighters discovered a five-gallon container of raw sewage that was the apparent source of the methane leak, she said.
I find this hard to believe but am willing to be proven wrong.
There's absolutely no way that the amount of methane from a 5 gallon bucket of sewage could have killed three people. If it could, every farmer who's ever walked into a barn full of cattle would be dead -- those critters fart methane in a big way. And every single person who's been staying in the Superdome for the past few days would be dead too.
I've been on 3 Royal Caribbean cruises and all I can say is that they keep those ships clean as hell.
Three crew members killed by gas leak on cruise ship in LA harbor
Posted on Fri, Sep. 02, 2005
TIM MOLLOY
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Three crew members were killed by methane gas from a raw sewage spill aboard a cruise ship in the Port of Los Angeles on Friday, authorities said. No passengers were involved.
Ten other members of the Monarch of the Seas crew were taken to hospitals for treatment of minor injuries, Fire Department Battalion Chief Lou Roupoli told a dockside press conference.
A statement from the Royal Caribbean cruise line said, however, that five crew members were taken to hospitals and all were in good condition. The discrepancy in numbers was not immediately explained.
Passengers were disembarking at the time of the incident and none were affected, Royal Caribbean said. "All guests have safely departed the ship," a company statement said.
Two ship's physicians were among those injured, said Fire Department spokeswoman Melissa Kelley.
The incident occurred at midmorning after the vessel returned from a cruise with about 2,500 passengers and 850 crew members aboard, Roupoli said. The ship makes regular trips down Mexico's Pacific coast.
Royal Caribbean said crew members were replacing a section of pipe connected to the ship's sewage system when the accident occurred.
The broken line expelled about five gallons of raw sewage and an unknown amount of methane gas in the starboard propeller shaft tunnel, Roupoli said.
The ship's first officer declared a medical emergency at 9:03 a.m. and an onboard rescue team with breathing apparatus retrieved the fallen workers, according to Roupoli and the cruise line statement.
City firefighters arrived about a half hour later with 11 ambulances, two hazardous materials units and other equipment. Roupoli said at late morning that the situation was stable.
Royal Caribbean said the Coast Guard and local authorities were immediately notified and that the cruise line "will fully assist in the investigation of the incident."
Passenger Yvonne Powers of Sacramento said she was about to disembark with her daughter when she saw men in hazardous-materials protective gear going downstairs.
"Nobody said anything to us," Powers said.
Later, after they had left the ship, there was a public address announcement that there had been a mishap and that "we've got it under control," she said.
Passenger Cindy Vasquez of Kingman, Ariz., was waiting to depart the ship with her husband and others when they realized something was wrong.
"We heard a lot of sirens, and heard the helicopters," she said.
She said the crew kept everyone calm as they left the ship.
"It was very, very in order. The panic level was nothing," Vasquez said.
The Monarch of the Seas was scheduled to depart late Friday afternoon on a cruise to the Mexican port of Ensenada.
The 14-year-old Monarch of the Seas is based in Los Angeles harbor. Registered in the Bahamas, it and can carry up to 2,744 passengers and 856 crew, according to the company's Web site.
The ship is 880 feet long, 106 feet wide, cruises at 21 knots and has 14 passenger decks.
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/12545573.htm