RESCUERS PICKED UP the search for 12 missing people at the break of dawn this morning after an Italian-flagged ferry caught fire off Corfu in the Ionian Sea.

Overnight, patrol ships combed the area off the holiday island hoping to locate survivors, the Greek coast guard told AFP.

The fire — which is still burning — and the heat on the ferry prevented rescuers from boarding this morning, but a helicopter, a frigate, a fire-fighting vessel and six tug boats were operating in the area more than 50 kilometres from Corfu.

Rescuers brought 280 passengers to Corfu after the blaze on the Euroferry Olympia broke out en route from Greece to Italy.

Officials say the cause of the fire remains unknown.

The coast guard said all of the missing are truck drivers — seven from Bulgaria, three from Greece, one from Turkey and one from Lithuania.

Truckers who were rescued from the vessel told Greece’s public broadcaster on Saturday that some drivers preferred to sleep in their vehicles because the ship’s cabins were overcrowded.

According to the Kathimerini newspaper, since June 2017 the Syndicate of Greek Professional Truck Drivers had warned about the conditions on Euroferry Olympia as well Euroferry Egnazia, both belonging to Grimaldi.

In a letter to the Greek Marine Ministry, they reported the air conditioning did not work in the cabins and there were not enough cabins for the number of passengers.

They had also complained that the ventilation in the garage did not work.

The 27-year-old ship’s latest safety check was at Igoumenitsa on 16 February, the company said.

Undocumented passengers

Black smoke was still billowing into the air this morning, according to the Ert state-run television station, while some explosions were heard.

Grimaldi Lines, the owner of the vessel, said late last night the fire ”is currently under control” but Greek Coast Guard this morning didn’t confirm.

According to the company, the ferry was officially carrying 239 passengers and 51 crew, as well as 153 trucks and trailers and 32 passenger vehicles.

But raising concern for how many unofficial passengers could still be missing, the coast guard said two of the people rescued were not on the manifest.

Both were Afghans, the coast guard told AFP.

The Bulgarian foreign ministry said 127 of its nationals were on the passenger list, including 37 truck drivers.

Another 24 were from Turkey, the country’s NTV station said, while broadcaster ERT said 21 Greeks were onboard.

Among the rescued, nine people taken to hospital with breathing difficulties remained in hospital.

“Two Bulgarians were hospitalised, one had very low saturation and was intubated,” deputy foreign minister Velislava Petrova told a briefing today.

Rescue team

A specialised Greek rescue team that boarded the burning vessel halted work Friday evening because of the intense heat, dense smoke and darkness on the ship, Athens News Agency said.

One of the rescuers who went aboard the ferry on Friday was taken to the hospital with respiratory problems, the fire brigade told AFP.

“We were waiting for four hours before the rescue came, we were in the fire, in the night, we felt only the fire underneath our feet,” Fahri Ozgen, one of the rescued passengers, told AFP.

“250 people were screaming, shouting, some of them were jumping into the sea. Some of our friends are still missing, we don’t know where they are.”

Some of the passengers lost everything in the fire.

“We lost our money, we lost our passports, we lost all our administrative documents, I don’t even have a shoe to wear on my foot. We can’t make any phone call I can’t phone Turkey.”, trucker Ali Duran explained.

There is heavy maritime traffic between the western Greek ports of Igoumenitsa and Patras and Italy’s Brindisi and Ancona.

The last shipboard fire in the Adriatic occurred in December 2014 on the Italian ferry Norman Atlantic. Thirteen people died in that blaze.

– © AFP 2022