Information about 11 missing people from the fire that broke out on the passenger-vehicle ferry Euroferry Olympia this morning, while sailing near Corfu, is causing concern.
The information about the missing seems to come from the first people rescued lifeboats, according to Proto Thema.
Exploration at sea continues for this missing.
How the fire broke out - Testimonies of passengers
The fire broke out shortly after the departure of the ship from the port of Igoumenitsa in the early hours of Friday, off Ereikousa.
At 4:30 in the morning there was an alarm on the ship and the evacuation process began immediately.
The passengers of the Euroferry Olympia of the Grimaldi group left the ship with lifeboats and were picked up by floating boats.
According to AMNA, there is an injured member of the crew.
Fortunately the weather was very good and so the rescue operation went smoothly.
The Euroferry Olympia, sailing under the Italian flag, had departed for Brindisi and was sailing northeast of the island of Ereikousa.
It is believed the fire started from a refrigerator truck on the ferry.
"The flames started coming out of the outer decks after we had left the ship," said a passenger. "It was then that we heard explosions from the trucks' tires."
According to him, the crew was organised and trained.
"If the crew had not reacted immediately, I do not know what would have happened, maybe the fire had overtaken us," he said.
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A passenger spoke to MEGA said: "It is a loss, not something special. 140 people are on the boat."
"They woke us up at 4:30," he said, adding: "The fire from what we saw came from the garages."
The same person expressed concern that there may be truck drivers sleeping in their trucks in the ship's garages.
See photos from the arrival of the injured in Corfu:
Corfu residents heard explosions.
Photo taken from Corfu clearly shows the ship and thick smoke coming out.
Dimitris Koskinas, a resident of Corfu, described to SKAI that the black smoke had covered a large area of Northern Epirus in Albania and Corfu, however no flames are visible anymore and he concludes that the fire has been extinguished.
"Before we could clearly hear some explosions," said Mr Koskinas.
The ferry had 239 passengers and 51 crew members on board.
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