The ferry has been fully evacuated, Italian shipping company Grimaldi Lines, which operates the ship, reported on Friday, according to Italian media. Nobody was injured, no fuel got into the sea.
The fire started in a garage on the ship, which had hundreds of vehicles, including several trucks, on board. Two Bulgarian truck drivers who had been locked in the garage were brought to safety. They are doing well, reported Grimaldi Lines. There are no other missing persons.
“The flames were very high”
“The flames were very high and there was panic on board,” said a witness, according to the Italian news agency ANSA. The captain gathered everyone on board on a single deck and ordered the evacuation. The flames have since been extinguished.
An Italian coast guard ship, which was not far from the “Euroferry Olympia” at the time of the accident, took 242 of the 288 people on board, who were then taken to Corfu. The other passengers boarded Greek patrol ships.
Nearly 300 people rescued
The “Euroferry Olympia” had 237 passengers and 51 crew members on board. The Greek authorities sent three patrol boats and three coast guard tugs to the scene of the accident in the Ionian Sea. Italian President Sergio Mattarella called the commander of the Italian Coast Guard and congratulated him on the rescue operation.
Source: Nachrichten
