Courtesy: Mark Matousek | News Source: businessinsider.com

A person was killed on August 22 after a fire broke out on the Russian river cruise ship Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the Russian publication Fontanka reported.

The ship was reportedly docked in St. Petersburg early on Thursday morning when the fire started in the cabin of one of the ship's mechanics (a separate report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said the fire began in the ship's engine room).

Three hundred twenty people were reportedly evacuated from the ship.

The rescue was challenging for firefighters, who had to cross through another ship, the Sergey Diaghilev, that was docked next to the Pyotr Tchaikovsky, according to Fontanka's report.

A person was killed on August 22 after a fire broke out on the Russian river cruise ship Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the Russian publication Fontanka reported.

The ship was docked in St. Petersburg, Russia, early on Thursday morning when the fire began in the cabin of one of the ship's mechanics, according to Fontanka — the origin of the fire remains unclear; a separate report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said the fire started in the ship's engine room. Three hundred twenty people were evacuated from the ship, though the rescue was challenging for firefighters, who had to cross through another ship, the Sergey Diaghilev, that was docked next to the Pyotr Tchaikovsky, according to Fontanka's report.

Two passengers on the Sergey Diaghilev told The New Zealand Herald that they were woken up at 5:15 a.m. local time by an announcement over their ship's intercom. They left the ship and waited on the shore for an hour as about a dozen fire trucks and six ambulances arrived at the scene and a man was carried by them on a stretcher.

"It's been a harrowing experience," one of the passengers told The New Zealand Herald.

The Pyotr Tchaikovsky is operated by the Russian company Doninturflot, Fontanka reported.

Have you worked on a cruise ship? Do you have a story to share? Email this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com.