flooded while the crew were at lunch.

The Coralita was filling up with water when boatmen returned on board after their break at Hamilton Ferry Terminal.

And worried crew members had to call 911 when they found the engine room was flooding just before 1.30 p.m. on Saturday.

Five firefighters boarded the stricken ferry and began pumping out water while Marine and Ports engineers were called to solve the problem.

They found that a water pump had burst and a new hose was fitted before the ferry was allowed to take passengers for its afternoon trips.

A Fire Service spokesman said: "We got the call when crew noticed a considerable amount of water in the engine room. They couldn't fire up the engine because the water pump cools the engine and it had burst.

"Thankfully, our job was just to pump out the excess water to make sure the ferry wasn't in any danger.

"There were no passengers on board at the time, the engineers came to replace the hose and the ferry was able to get on its way.'' DRIVER KNOCKED OUT IN CAR ACCIDENT AC Driver knocked out in car accident A Hamilton man was knocked unconscious in a car smash on Coney Island on Christmas Eve.

The 20-year-old, driving a Mazda car, was parked at the junction of North Shore and had begun to get out of the vehicle when he was in collision with a Toyota car travelling in the opposite direction. The victim was taken to hospital but his injuries were not considered serious.

The driver of the second car was taken to Hamilton Police Station but released after passing an alco-analyser test.

MAN, 23, ATTACKED ON CHRISTMAS MORNING CRM Man, 23, attacked on Christmas morning A man has been arrested following a violent attack on a St.George's man in the early hours of Christmas.

The 23-year-old victim received numerous cuts and bruises and was also threatened with his life by two men on Mullet Bay Road at about 5.00.a.m.

The beating only ended when a neighbour intervened and the man was then allowed to go to hospital where it was discovered he had a broken jaw. Police are still hunting other suspects.

WOMAN'S DEATH NOT TREATED AS SUSPICIOUS OBT Woman's death not treated as suspicious A woman employed by the Bermuda Telephone Company collapsed and died while at work over the holiday break.

The 54-year-old complained of feeling unwell at her station and later collapsed. Despite efforts by Police and ambulance staff to revive the woman she was pronounced dead in hospital an hour later. Police are not treating the death as suspicious.

GENERAL POST OFFICE CLOSED ON JANUARY 2 GVT General Post Office closed on January 3 The Postmaster General wishes to inform the public that the General Post Office in Hamilton will be closed on Saturday, January 3. The building will be closed because of renovations. The electrical and sanitation systems will be non-operational as a result.

The General Post Office will open for business on the following Saturday, January 10.