A fire broke out on the passenger-vehicle ferry Euroferry Olympia this morning, while sailing near Corfu.
Information speak of 10 missing people.
As it became known, two people are trapped in the burning ship and are in contact rescue personnel who gives them instructions so that they will reach the upper decks and be picked up by a Greek Super Puma SAR helicopter.
According to information from protothema.gr, the two trapped are Bulgarians
An extinguishing operation is underway trying to extinguish the flames on the burning ship.
The number of 10 missing comes from the first rough count carried out on the lifeboats.
A total of 290 people (239 passengers and 51 crew) were on the Grimaldi Group passenger-vehicle ferry that departed from Igoumenitsa to Brindisi.
Among them 22 Greeks, 15 passengers and 7 crew members.
In a communication of the protothema with the Grimaldi group, a spokesman said: “It is too early to make a statement. We try to cross-reference information and compare how many were declared on the passenger list with those who were rescued. The Italian boat has also rescued people, we are waiting for the counting and identification at the port of Corfu”.
The survivors of the ship that was engulfed in flames were collected from three vessels (in a vessel of more than 200 people) and reach Corfu in parts.
There, the Hellenic Coast Guard has identified 4 counting points where an head check will be made, so that there is a clear picture of the missing.
Search at sea also continues.
It is worth noting that earlier passengers who spoke on television expressed fears that not all passengers may have escaped, as it is possible that there were some drivers who slept in their trucks in the garages.
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At 4.30 in the morning there was an alarm on the ship and the evacuation process began immediately.
The passengers of the Euroferry Olympia of the Grimaldi group left the ship with lifeboats.
According to information transmitted by the Athens Press Agency, there is an injured member of the crew.
Fortunately the weather was very good and so the rescue operation went smoothly.
The Euroferry Olympia, sailing under the Italian flag, had departed for Brindisi and was sailing northeast of the island of Ereikousa.
According to the first information of protothema.gr, the fire started from the garage, possibly from a refrigerator truck.
“The flames started coming out of the outer decks after we had left the ship.
“It was then that we heard explosions from the trucks’ tires”, a passenger driver told protothema.gr.
According to him, the crew was organized and trained.
“If the crew had not reacted immediately, I do not know what would have happened, maybe the fire would have burnt us”, he said.
A passenger spoke to MEGA as he was disembarking from the lifeboat on a ship of the Italian Economic Police that rushed to help: “140 people are on the boat. They woke us up at 4:30′. The fire from what we saw came from the garages”. The same person expressed concern that there may be truck drivers sleeping in their trucks in the ship’s garages.
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