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The towing of the ‘euro ferry olympia’ ferry to Greek waters has already started. Two Greek tugboats have towed and carefully launched the Italian-flagged ferry to Corfu.
Sources in the Greek Ministry of Maritime Transport told Top Channel that discussions with the Albanian side are ending and the ship is being pushed towards Greek waters.
Images broadcast by Greek media showed the 183-meter-long vehicle occupied by fire and large plumes of smoke as loudspeakers cried for help.
The Greek Coast Guard clarified that there were 239 passengers and 51 crew members aboard the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia. Most of them managed to cross into lifeboats and be transferred to the port of Corfu. There are currently no reports of deaths or injuries. A person with smoke-breathing problems was taken to hospital.
The ferry had departed from Igoumenitsa, the largest port in western Greece, towards the Italian port of Brindisi, located about nine hours away.
When the fire broke out, the ship was in Greek waters, but the sea currents have recently pushed it into the Albanian ones, making it now only a few miles from our shores.
The flames erupted just as the ferry was near the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea.
The ferry is part of the Grimaldi Lines group fleet and has a capacity of up to 560 passengers, according to the company website.
The rescue operation involved at least three Coast Guard vessels and an Italian Guardia di Finanza.
In 2014, 10 people lost their lives when a ferry with 466 passengers and crew members caught fire while sailing from Greece to Italy.
top channel
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