The final voyage for "The Love Boat" took a tragic turn, when two crew members died just as the vessel was about to be dismantled.
The iconic boat from the popular '70s TV show was on its way to a Turkish scrapyard when it was damaged while entering the port of Aliaga. The vessel began taking on water, which crew members began draining with electrical pumps.
Toxic fumes killed two workers, CNN reported, while six others were treated at a local hospital and later released.
Turkish officials have launched an investigation into the two deaths.
The 600-passenger boat, christened the Pacific Princess, was built in 1971. From 1977 to 1986, it served as the backdrop for ABC's “The Love Boat," with passengers and crew members — like Captain Stubing (Gavin MacLeod), Gopher the purser (Fred Grandy), and bartender Isaac (Ted Lange) — engaging in romance and adventures on a weekly basis. The show was mostly filmed on dry land, but did actually shoot some exterior scenes aboard the Pacific Princess.
(A short-lived 1998 remake, "The Love Boat: The Next Wave," was set on a different ship, the Sun Princess.)
After "The Love Boat" ended, the Pacific Princess was renamed Quail Cruises and sailed in Mediterranean tours. But the ship was decommissioned five years ago and docked in Genoa.
With renovations deemed too costly to undertake, the vessel was sold for more than $3 million andset to be dismantled for parts. The owners say it will take up to eight months for the Love Boat to be reduced to scrap. LINK
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