ATHENS, Feb 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — Two men who had been trapped for several hours in a ferry that caught fire off Greece’s Corfu island were rescued, and the number of missing rose to 12, Greek news agency AMNA reported on Friday evening.
“Our thoughts are with them and their families,” Ioannis Plakiotakis, Greek Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, said in a statement regarding the missing.
A total of 280 people were transferred on Corfu, according to local officials. Among survivors was at least one person which was not included in the official list of people onboard Euroferry Olympia, the Greek Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy said.
The captain had reported 239 passengers and 51 crew members onboard.
An Afghan national who was also not registered in the passenger list and a Bulgarian driver were evacuated from the ferry by helicopter on Friday evening, according to the latest report from the Greek Coast Guard.
Ten people were slightly injured, according to an announcement of Corfu hospital.
The Italian-flagged ferry had departed from the Greek port of Igoumenitsa sailing towards Italy’s Brindisi, when the incident occurred under still unclear circumstances.
Nearby ships and Coast Guard vessels rushed to the area to collect people who evacuated the ferry in lifeboats.
“Everything happened so fast,” Costas, a Greek crew member, told the local daily “Proto Thema”.
“(There was) no panic, the crew was experienced,” Constantin, a Bulgarian passenger, added. — NNN-XINHUA
