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Dismantling of the Famed Love Boat Turns Deadly: Two killed

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Jason

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Turkish workers Dogan Balci, 37, and Davut Ozdemir, 40, were killed after inhaling toxic gases in the engine room of the Pacific Princess. The ship was recently sold at auction and had just sailed to the Turkish shipyard to be dismantled for parts.

Two people in Turkey who were dismantling the famed former Pacific Princess have tragically been killed by noxious gases in the ship's engine room, according to local reports.

The ship, which was made famous by the wildly popular 1970s and 1980s ABC television show "The Love Boat," had arrived in a scrapyard in Turkey to be disassembled for parts.

However, during the voyage from the Italian city of Genoa, the Pacific encountered rough seas, and as a result, had significant flooding.

Ten workers entered the ship's engine room Aug. 10 in an effort to siphon out water, according to Istanbul's Dogan News Agency.

The crews used electrical pumps to bilge out the water, but the device started emitting toxic gases, local media reports state.

The workers were rushed to hospitals, but two men — identified as 37-year-old Dogan Balci and 40-year-old Davut Özdemir — died of smoke poisoning. The Hurriyet Daily News reported that the eight remaining workers were discharged from the hospital Sunday.

It's a tragic end for the famed vessel, which was built in Germany in 1971 and skyrocketed to international acclaim during ABC's hit sitcom, which ran between 1977 and 1987.

The ship has had many names, and was originally christened the Sea Venture, cruising between Bermuda and the U.S.

At $25 million, she was a pricey vessel, and relatively small by today's cruise ship standards.

The 554-foot long ship traversed that course for three years before she was sold to Princess Cruises and rechristened the "Pacific Princess." It sailed under the company until 2003.

The ship was sold to scrap by its last owner, Spanish-based Quail Cruises, for $3.3 million at auction. Authorities will launch an investigation into the men's deaths after the water and smoke is completely removed from the vessel.

By Beth Stebner, New York Daily News

For more cruise news & articles go to http://www.cruisecrazies.com/index.html

Re-posted on CruiseCrazies.com - Cruise News, Articles, Forums, Packing List, Ship Tracker, and more

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So very sad and tragic. God be with the two young men's families. I remember the Love Boat series; it gave me something to be happy about. My first husband died the same year the show came out...it was a very tough time, but when the show came on I had something to dream about...going on a cruise...I finally had my first cruise with my mom and dad, and some family friends, in 1979. I fell in love with cruising,... and the sea.

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