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Fire on passenger ferry in Adriatic Sea

December 28, 2014

Greek officials say an international rescue effort is underway after a passenger ferry carrying 466 people caught fire off the island of Corfu. They said passengers were being evacuated amid bad weather conditions.

https://p.dw.com/p/1EAmd
The Norman Atlantic. Photo: Eustace Bagge
Image: cc-by:Eustace Bagge-sa

A car ferry carrying 466 passengers and crew has caught fire while en route from Greece to Italy, forcing its evacuation, officials said on Sunday.

The Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic, which belongs to the Greek ferry line ANEK, was 44 nautical miles northwest of the island of Corfu when it sent a distress signal after a fire broke out on the lower deck, Greek coast guard officials said.

They said rough seas and high winds were hampering the rescue operation.

The ship was sailing from Patras in western Greece to the eastern Italian city of Ancona when the fire broke out.

Not enough lifeboats?

Passengers who phoned Greek television stations said there were not enough lifeboats available on the ship and that many passengers had jumped into the sea to escape the flames.

Cold winter temperatures would make survival difficult if any passengers were in the water unless they were rescued quickly.

Officials said Greek, Italian and Albanian authorities were taking part in the rescue operation.

The ship was carrying 222 vehicles, 411 passengers and 55 crew. As yet, there have been no reports of injuries.

tj/se (Reuters, dpa, AFP)