130 rescued passengers of the “Norman Atlantic” ferry that caught fire off the coast of Corfu were transported by the Italian warship “San Giorgio” to Brindisi. Among these passengers are 106 Greeks. The Greek embassy in Italy said that Greek passengers were in good health and staying at hotels outside Brindisi.

Aegean Airlines has offered to transport the Greeks stranded at Brindisi to Athens free of charge. Their departure was initially to take place at 8.30 p.m. but was delayed due to extreme weather conditions and snowfall.

At the same time, there are two S-70-styled naval helicopters and an Av-205 helicopter as well as two NH-90 helicopters of the Hellenic Navy at the assistance of Greeks rescued from the ferry.

The number of Greeks is less than expected, leaving authorities to guess if some Greeks avoided giving their names or may have stated that they were Greek on board the ship only to give another nationality afterwards. There is still confusion concerning the exact number of Greeks onboard the ship. Each of the 106 Greeks had to give a 10-minute testimony as soon as they arrived at Brindisi, further extending their ordeal to around three hours while their relatives patiently waited for them at the port.

The Greeks were transported to three different hotels by private coaches hired by ANEK shipping lines and are waiting to find out when they’ll finally be returned to Athens.

The “San Giorgio” also transported a total of 22 crew members of the ship to Brindisi and they are already testifying to the authorities of Bari concerning the accident. Investigations are currently taking place into the circumstances surrounding the outbreak of the fire. The Italian media’s coverage referred to problems in the coordination of the evacuation and rescue of the ship, especially the first few hours following the fire.

The “Aby Jeannette” vessel carrying 26 Greek passengers of the “Norman Atlantic” is scheduled to arrive at the port of Taranto at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Greek Coast Guard is expected to announce a new updated list of Greeks rescued from the burning ferry that is still at the same spot near the Albanian coasts that is surrounded by five tugboats, five Italian and one Greek.