Passenger ferry catches fire off Greece / GALLERY

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Ancon - A car ferry carrying 466 passengers and crew caught fire while sailing from Greece to Italy and its captain ordered its evacuation, coast guard officials said on Sunday. The Norman Atlantic, sailing from Patras in western Greece to the Italian port of Ancona, was 33 nautical miles off the small island of Othonoi when it sent a distress signal, Greek coast guard officials said. “The captain has requested the evacuation of the ship, according to initial information,” coast guard spokesman Nikos Lagkadianos said. The fire broke out in the garage of the vessel, which was carrying 222 vehicles, just before 6.00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT), the coast guard said. Passengers who telephoned Greek television stations said that an evacuation was being attempted but that conditions were difficult. A helicopter and two rescue vessels were on their way to the area and a container ship was nearby. Strong winds were blowing in the area, the coast guard said.

Airlift under way for hundreds trapped on burning ferry off Greece

Italian and Greek helicopter crews prepared to work through the night to airlift passengers in pairs off a burning ferry adrift in the Adriatic Sea, battling darkness and bad weather that hampered rescue efforts by other ships throughout Sunday. Helicopters were plucking passengers off the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic and transferring them to a nearby vessel, after a dramatic day that began when a fire broke out on its lower deck in the early hours. A Greek government official said one man had died but there were no other confirmed reports of casualties among almost 500 passengers and crew and as night fell, Greek authorities said 156 people were clear of the danger zone. An official said 150 people had managed to get off the ship aboard a rescue boat earlier in the day. After it drifted in fierce winds into Albanian waters, a tugboat was hoping to tow the ferry into Albania’s main port of Durres, with another tug helping for part of the journey, Luan Kore, an official from another Albanian port said. “We are making superhuman efforts in this extremely difficult operation,” Greek coastguard spokesman Nikos Lagkadianos said. “Operations by air will continue throughout the night,” he said. A Greek Defence Ministry official said two Italian and two Greek Super Puma helicopters had been deployed, with each air transfer taking around 15 minutes as the pairs of passengers are bundled into a rescue basket and winched up from the vessel. Earlier, Lagkadianos said the heavy rain that was hampering the rescue had helped contain the fire although the ship was still burning. Terrified passengers told how they had to move higher and higher in the ship to escape the flames. “We went to the deck where there were life boats, but at some point we felt the floor burning and we went higher up to the heliport,” Rania Fireou told Greek television by phone before the airlifts began. “There are many children and elderly people aboard,” she said. “We have gathered all together and we are trying to warm ourselves.”

COMPLICATED RESCUE

Greek Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said the bad weather, with winds of up to 55 miles (88 km) per hour earlier, made the operation extremely difficult. “We are doing everything we can to save those on board and no one, no one will be left helpless in this tough situation,” he told reporters. “It is one of the most complicated rescue operations that we have ever done.” Coastguard officials said the Norman Atlantic, which was also carrying more than 200 vehicles, was 44 nautical miles northwest of the island of Corfu when it radioed for help. It had been travelling from Patras in western Greece to the Italian city of Ancona. Command of the operation was transferred to Italy after winds took the helpless vessel out of Greek waters but officials were coordinating closely and an Albanian coastguard vessel was also taking part. A coastguard official said nearby passenger and container ships had attempted to form a ring around the burning vessel to try to form a windbreak to allow small rescue boats to approach. Officials said there were 478 passengers and crew on the Norman Atlantic, of whom 268 were Greek, while a foreign ministry official said there were also passengers from countries including Germany, Italy, Austria, Turkey, France and the Netherlands. Many appeared to be truck drivers. The fire broke out in the lower deck garage of the vessel but there were differing accounts of when it started. Initial reports said the fire began at around 6.00 a.m. (0400 GMT) but Italian officials put the time at 4.30 a.m. The Norman Atlantic is a 26,900-tonne, roll-on roll-off ferry chartered by Greek ferry company ANEK. According to marine traffic data, it was built in 2009 and previously operated in Italy. ANEK said in a statement it was cooperating with rescue authorities.

Albanian tug tows stricken car ferry to port

An Albanian tugboat was preparing to fix a line and tow the stricken car ferry that caught fire off the coast of Greece earlier on Sunday, an official in the port of Vlore said on Sunday. Luan Kore, the chief of tugboats at the Albanian port said a tug from Vlore was preparing to tow the Norman Atlantic to Albania’s main port of Durres, where it was already being driven by strong winds. A second more powerful tugboat would be also help tow it part of the way, Kore said. The Norman Atlantic, an Italian-flagged car ferry chartered by Greek operator ANEK Lines, raised the alarm in the early hours of Sunday after fire broke out in its lower decks. An international rescue operation involving ships and aircraft from Greece, Italy and Albania has battled heavy seas and strong winds to try to evacuate the 478 passengers and crew and is preparing to work through the night.

Hundreds trapped as ferry burns in heavy seas off Greece

Hundreds of passengers were trapped on a burning car ferry off Greece on Sunday, pleading to be rescued by a flotilla of nearby ships that battled storm conditions in open water to try to reach them. The Greek coastguard said 150 people had been saved from the Italian-registered Norman Atlantic, which was carrying almost 500 passengers and crew when it sent a distress signal after fire broke out on its lower deck. As high winds and rough seas impeded efforts by other ships to rescue those still on board, it was unclear whether there had been casualties or if any passengers were in the water. “The ship is still on fire, the floor is burning,” passenger George Styliaras told Greek TV by telephone, adding that smoke was making it difficult to breathe. “We don’t know how long we can hold on.” Cold winter temperatures would make survival in the sea difficult unless rescue came quickly. Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said the combination of very bad weather, with winds of up to 55 miles (88 kilometres) per hour and the fire, made the operation extremely complicated. “We are doing everything we can to save those on board and no one, no one will be left helpless in this tough situation,” he told reporters. “It is one of the most complicated rescue operations that we have ever done.” Coastguard officials said the Norman Atlantic, which was also carrying more than 200 vehicles, was 44 nautical miles northwest of the island of Corfu when it radioed for help. Coastguard spokesman Nikos Lagkadianos said 150 people were on a rescue boat, of whom 42 had been successfully transferred to the container ship Spirit of Piraeus. Rough seas made it difficult for the rescue boat to approach the ship. A journalist who was aboard Cruise Europa, a nearby cruise ship, said he could see passengers on the upper deck of the Norman Atlantic clinging to the railings as they waited for rescue.

INTERNATIONAL RESCUE EFFORT

A coastguard official said nearby passenger and container ships were attempting to form a ring around the burning vessel to try to form a windbreak to allow small rescue boats to approach but rough seas made the manoeuvre difficult. Varvitsiotis said there were 478 passengers and crew aboard the ship, more than the 466 originally reported. Of those, he said 268 were Greek, while a foreign ministry official said there were also passengers from several other countries including Germany, Italy, Austria, Turkey, France and the Netherlands. Many appeared to be truck drivers. One Greek passenger told a television reporter that language differences hindered communication between passengers and crew. While rescue vessels and aircraft had been dispatched to the scene, early rescue work was being coordinated from nearby passenger and cargo ships. A fire-fighting vessel was trying to approach the ferry. Tug boats were being sent from both Greece and Italy but would take some time before arriving. The fire broke out in the lower deck garage of the vessel but there were differing accounts of when it started. Initial reports said the fire began at around 6.00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) but Italian officials put the time at 4.30 a.m. Officials said both Italian and Albanian authorities were taking part in the operation, which was being conducted in extremely difficult conditions with strong winds, heavy seas and very cold temperatures. The Norman Atlantic is a 26,900-tonne, roll-on roll-off ferry chartered by Greek ferry company ANEK, the coastguard said. According to marine traffic data, it was built in 2009 and previously operated in Italy.

Rescuers struggle to reach burning ferry in heavy seas off Greece

Passengers aboard a car ferry that caught fire off the coast of Greece early on Sunday pleaded for help as rescue vessels struggled to approach the burning vessel in high winds and rough seas. The Norman Atlantic, carrying almost 500 passengers and crew and more than 200 vehicles, was 44 nautical miles northwest of the island of Corfu when it sent a distress signal after a fire started in the lower deck, Greek coast guard officials said. It was unclear whether there had been casualties or if any passengers were in the water, though one man on board said strong winds were stopping rescuers from getting close. “We are burning and sinking, no one can save us,” Nikos Papatheodosiou told Greek TV by telephone. “Please help us! Don’t leave us,” he said before hanging up. Cold winter temperatures would make survival in the sea difficult unless rescue came quickly. Passengers said they were waiting on the upper deck of the ship as Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said the combination of very bad weather, with winds of up to 55 miles (88 kilometres) per hour and the fire, made the operation extremely complicated. “We are doing everything we can to save those on board and no one, no one will be left helpless in this tough situation,” he told reporters. “It is one of the most complicated rescue operations that we have ever done.” He did not confirm earlier reports that as many as 130 people had been rescued, saying only that 35 people had been able to board a nearby container ship, the Spirit of Piraeus, from a rescue boat carrying 150.

INTERNATIONAL RESCUE EFFORT

Conditions made it difficult for the boat to re-approach the cargo ship. Varvitsiotis said there were 478 passengers and crew aboard the ship, more than the 466 originally reported. Of those, 268 were Greek. There were no immediate details of the nationality of other passengers. While rescue vessels and aircraft had been dispatched to the scene, early rescue work was being coordinated from nearby passenger and cargo ships. A fire-fighting vessel was trying to approach the ferry. The fire broke out in the lower deck garage of the vessel but there were differing reports of when it started. Initial reports said the fire began at around 6.00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) but Italian officials put the time at 4.30 a.m. Officials said both Italian and Albanian authorities were taking part in the operation, which was being conducted in extremely difficult conditions with strong winds, heavy seas and very cold temperatures. Rescue helicopters and a C-130 search-and-rescue support aircraft had also been sent.

Passenger ferry evacuated after fire breaks out off Greece

An international rescue effort was under way in high winds after a car ferry carrying 466 passengers and crew caught fire while sailing from Greece to Italy and its captain ordered its evacuation, officials said on Sunday. Passengers who telephoned Greek television stations gave dramatic testimony of conditions on the ship, which caught fire just before 6.00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) while travelling from Patras in western Greece to the eastern Italian city of Ancona. “They tried to lower some boats, but not all of us could get in. There is no coordination,” one said. “It’s dark, the bottom of the vessel is on fire. We are on the bridge, we can see a boat approaching... we opened some boxes and got some life vests, we are trying to save ourselves.” It was unclear whether there had been any casualties or whether any passengers were in the water, where cold winter temperatures would make survival difficult unless rescue came quickly. The Norman Atlantic, carrying 222 vehicles, 411 passengers and 55 crew, was 44 nautical miles northwest of the island of Corfu when it sent a distress signal after a fire started in the lower deck, Greek coast guard officials said. “The ship is already being evacuated,” an official told Reuters, adding that 130 people had been transferred from a rescue boat to a container ship that had been nearby when the fire broke out. Officials said both Italian and Albanian authorities were taking part in the operation, which was being conducted in difficult conditions with strong winds. Seven other ships were in the area and rescue helicopters and a C-130 search-and-rescue support aircraft had also been sent.