Hundreds of people rescued from ferry fire during Greece-Italy crossing

Two people are trapped on a ferry that caught fire while sailing between Greece and Italy early on Friday, the Greek coast guard said. Other passengers and crew were rescued.

The coast guard said a total of 239 passengers and 51 crew were aboard the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia, and most of them were transferred on rescue boats to the island port of Corfu, where ambulances were waiting.

“We were woken up around 4:20 in the morning. Within an hour we left the ship… We were saved by the crew, who acted quickly,” one of the passengers told Skai TV by phone.

There were no immediate reports of fatalities or serious injuries. A person with respiratory problems was taken to a hospital, according to local health officials.

Greek media reported that at least 10 people were missing. Authorities could not confirm the information, saying the operation was ongoing. Hours after the alarm was raised, the ship was still on fire.

“Two people were trapped in the garage and efforts are being made to get them on deck,” a coast guard official said, adding that a helicopter was waiting to take them by plane.

A video posted on the Greek news website Proto Thema showed the ferry on fire and engulfed in huge clouds of smoke. The ferry departed Igoumenitsa, the largest port in western Greece, and was bound for the Italian port of Brindisi, nine hours away.

another fire

An abandoned cargo ship filled with luxury cars is adrift in the Atlantic Ocean after a fire spread rapidly and forced the crew to leave the vessel on Wednesday. The vessel is 200 meters long and was 90 nautical miles (about 170 km) southwest of the island of Faial, in the Portuguese archipelago of Azores.