ELEUTHERA ISLAND — A fire broke out aboard a Carnival cruise Line ship following unconfirmed reports of lightning.

According to CNN, the Carnival Freedom was about 20 miles off Eleuthera Island, The Bahamas when the fire broke out at approximately 3:15 p.m., local time, on March 23. Passengers recalled hearing loud thunder and lightning just prior to the fire, though the cause of the blaze is still being investigated.

The fire occurred on the port side of the ship’s exhaust funnel, say cruise ship officials, which fell onto deck 10 of the ship as a result. 

It took two hours for the ship’s fire response team to extinguish the blaze. The ship’s captain also helped by turning the ship towards heavy rain. Passengers were told to remain in their cabins during the fire, after which they were able to attend dinner as planned.

Following an assessment while docked in Freeport, Carnival Cruise Line said that the resulting damage to the ship was worse than it had initially reported. As a result, Carnival Freedom’s sailings that were scheduled to depart from Port Canaveral on March 25 and March 29 have been cancelled for “immediate repair to stabilize the funnel,” said Carnival Cruise Line in a news release. 

Full refunds and future cruise credits for passengers on these cancelled cruises will be issued.