Airlift under way for hundreds trapped on
burning VEHICLE ferry off IONIAN SEA OF Greece.
THIS WAS AN ITALIAN FLAGGED, GREEK-CHARTERED BOAT.
(CNN) -- [Breaking news update 6:12 a.m. ET ]
Four more people have
died from the ferry fire, Greek Merchant Marine Minister Miltiades
Varvitsiotis said Monday. This brings the overall death toll to five
since the fire broke out Sunday.
[Full story]
Hundreds of passengers
have endured a freezing night on a stricken ferry, more than 24 hours
after a fire broke out on the vessel en route to Italy in the Adriatic
Sea.
Smaller helicopters with
night vision equipment worked through the night to pull passengers off
the ferry, one by one, but the pace is expected to pick up with daylight
Monday as larger helicopters rejoin the mission.
On Monday morning, the
Italian Navy announced that more than 300 people had been rescued from
the Norman Atlantic, which was traveling between the Greek port of
Igoumenitsa and the Italian port of Ancona when fire broke out deep in
the parking bay.
The Norman Atlantic was traveling between Igoumenitsa, Greece and Ancona, Italy when it caught fire.
Authorities said more than 100 remained on board.
An Italian Navy medical
team boarded the ship Monday to aid passengers, some of whom were
suffering hypothermia and smoke inhalation, the Italy Navy said. The
already cold conditions were worsened by the spray of tugboat hoses as
authorities attempted to douse the flames.
After waiting hours in
rough conditions, one Greek man told Italian state broadcaster RAI TV
that passengers were "dying of cold and suffocating from the smoke," and
that their feet were "burning" from the heat of the flames.
Ferry catches fire between Greece, Italy
Burning ferry passengers arrive in Italy
First images from inside burning ferry
Hundreds aboard ferry burning in Adriatic
One man died after he
jumped or fell into the cold water, authorities said. Four others were
also killed, but authorities did not say how they died.
Dramatic cell phone
images filmed by a passenger showed flames through shattered portholes,
while a wider view released by rescuers showed a huge plume of thick,
black smoke streaming from the stricken vessel.
Lifeboats 'stopped working'
In the first three hours
of the blaze, around 150 people were able to escape via the vessel's
lifeboats. But when the ferry lost power, the electronic arms were
unable to function, leaving the boats dangling uselessly by its side.
Rescue efforts were
hampered by strong winds, choppy seas and thick smoke, which prevented
other boats from getting close enough to the vessel to get people off.
Many passengers were
also unable to reach the lower decks because of the heat, and the water
below was so cold that jumping clear of the ferry was not an option.
Passengers able to escape the ferry told Greek and Italian newsgroups they felt like "prisoners on a burning ship."
Conditions weren't
expected to improve on Monday, according to CNN meterologist Tom Sater.
He said while the storm system was moving away, another was forming to
the south that would sweep cold air through the rescue area. "Stronger
winds from a storm system moving across the south could case problems
for the next 24 to 48 hours," he said.
Sea surface temperatures
were currently around 14 to 15 degrees Celsius (57 to 59 degrees
Fahrenheit), he said, limiting the survival time if anyone should fall
in to up to six hours.
Survivors taken to port
The Italian Navy said
medical personnel were lowered onto the vessel early Monday, amid
reports some passengers were suffering from smoke inhalation and
hypothermia.
Hours earlier, a tugboat
was attached to the ferry in an effort to hold it steady while
helicopter pilots worked to shuttle passengers onto nearby merchant
vessels.
A freighter carrying 49
rescued passengers was expected to arrive in Brindisi, Italy, near the
port of Bari, the Italian Coast Guard said Monday. Passengers needing
medical attention would be taken to nearby hospitals.
Fire spread quickly
It's not known how the
fire started, but it's believed to have originated in the parking bay.
At least one truck driver told the Greek news media that trucks filled
with oil were "packed like sardines," their cargo scraping the ceiling,
which could have set off sparks in rough seas to start a fire, he
surmised.
Greek authorities said the vessel's fire doors appeared to have failed which allowed the flames to spread quickly.
The disaster made
national headlines in Greece, Italy and other countries with citizens
aboard the ferry. In a Sunday morning public address, Pope Francis
offered "affection and prayers" to those affected by the Norman Atlantic
ferry fire as well as a collision in the Adriatic Sea between two
merchant ships.
Thick clouds of smoke
enveloped the vessel earlier Sunday as rescuers awaited an opportunity
to approach. At least eight ships were deployed, but heavy winds and
freezing waters kept them at bay, making evacuation by air the only
feasible option.
Turkish diplomatic
personnel are heading to Igoumenitsa, the likely port for evacuated
passengers, according to a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement released
Sunday. Turkish citizens were among the passengers, with Greeks and
Italians making up the majority.
By Renee Maltezou
ATHENS Sun Dec 28, 2014 12:31pm EST
(Reuters) -
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. (11 p.m. ET) 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.
_______________________________________________________
One passenger dead and another injured as
hundreds of terrified travellers are trapped on blazing ferry off coast of
Corfu with gale-force winds hampering rescue efforts
Ferry
carrying 423 passengers and 55 crew caught alight off Greek island
One
person confirmed dead and another injured during attempts to escape
Evacuation of Norman Atlantic ferry has been ongoing
for hours off Corfu
Passengers still trapped on ship with rescue efforts
hampered by weather
Two of those on board are British nationals and have
made contact to UK
Vessel had been travelling from Greek port of Patras
to Ancona in Italy
|
One passenger has reportedly died and another injured while
attempting to escape a blazing ferry stranded off the Greek island of
Corfu.
Giovanni Pettorino, an Italian coastguard official, said
one person had died while being rescued from the Italian-flagged Norman
Atlantic, which caught alight as it travelled from the Greek port of Patras to
Ancona in Italy.
Authorities confirmed there were 423 passengers and 55
crew members on board and said more than half of them remain trapped on the
ferry as the rescue operation is being hampered by choppy seas and bad weather.
Greek and Italian rescue
helicopters and vessels are struggling to reach the stricken ferry, which is
being pushed towards the Albanian coast by winds in excess of 55 miles per
hour.
One person has died and another injured while attempting
to escape a blazing ferry stranded off the Greek island of Corfu. The
Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic caught alight as it travelled from Greece to
Ancona in Italy
Passengers remain trapped on the blazing ferry, off the
coast of Corfu, as gale-force winds and choppy seas hamper the rescue effort.
The vessel caught alight at 6am local time with 478 passengers and crew on
board
Greek and Italian rescue helicopters and vessels are
struggling to reach the stricken passenger ferry (pictured), which is being
pushed towards the Albanian coast by winds in excess of 55 miles per hour
The fire broke out on the lower car deck of the
passenger ferry, which was also carrying 222 vehicles, just before 6am local
time (4am GMT).
Some passengers have reportedly been stranded on an
upper deck of the ferry for more than eight hours, as they are unable to be
lowered to lifeboats due to the high seas.
Some passengers have reportedly been stranded on an
upper deck of the stricken ferry for more than eight hours, as they are unable
to be lowered to lifeboats or rescued due to the high seas and rough conditions
John Kittmer, British Ambassador to Greece, confirmed on
Twitter that two British nationals were on board the vessel.
He said: 'We understand from the passenger manifest that
two British nationals are believed to be on board.
'We are in close contact with the Greek authorities and
are urgently seeking more information.
'We understand that the Greek authorities are working
with the Italians, who are leading the rescue effort.'
Several explosions have been heard from the lower deck
of the ferry and there have been reports of rescue workers crying as they try
to free those on board.
Authorities confirmed this afternoon that 149
people have so far been transported to safety - eight airlifted to southern
Italy and the rest taken to nearby ships.
Greek Merchant Marine spokesman Nikos Lagadianos said a
lifeboat carrying about 150 passengers had been lowered into the water, and
Italian rescue workers were in the process of transporting passengers from it
by helicopter - two at a time - to the nearby Cruise Europa ship.
Two tugboats are working to try to extinguish the fire,
he said.
Vassiliki Tavrizelou, who was rescued along with her
two-year-old daughter, spoke to the media from her hospital bed in Lecce,
southern Italy.
She told Associated Press via a telephone interview:
'They called first on women and children to be evacuated from the ship.
'Ships could not approach us because of the rain and
winds. We were at least four hours on the deck, in the cold and rain.'
She recalled the ship alarm going off and seeing fire from
her cabin. 'Then we heard explosions,' she said.
It was not immediately clear what the explosions were,
and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
A liferaft from the stricken ferry in the Adriatic Sea.
Authorities said 117 people have been rescued so far
The fire broke out on the lower car deck of the
Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic ferry, which was travelling from the Greek port
of Patras to Ancona in Italy and carrying 423 passengers, 55 crew members and
222 vehicles
Passenger Giorgos Stiliaras told Greek Mega TV that
passengers were having trouble breathing due to the thick smoke.
'We are outside, we are very cold, the ship is full of
smoke,' he said by telephone. 'The boat is still burning, the floors are
boiling.'
He recalled 'the smell of burning plastic' waking people
up.
The ferry, which is run by a Greek firm, was packed with
holidaymakers and truck drivers making the popular transport run between Greece
and Italy.
Of those on board, 234
passengers and 34 crew are Greek. Other passengers are from Turkey, Albania,
Italy, Britain and several other countries, including Germany, Switzerland,
Belgium and France. Many of the crew included Italians.
Earlier today, several passengers stranded on the ship
contacted local media stations in a desperate cry for help.
Sofoklis Styliaras, a Greek passenger still on board the
flaming vessel, told Mega television: 'The fire is still burning. On the
lower deck, where the lifeboats are, our shoes were starting to melt from the
heat.
'There's nowhere else for us to go. It's impossible to
walk on the lower deck because of the heat.'
Another passenger told Greek TV: 'They tried to lower
some boats, but not all of us could get in.
'There is no coordination. 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.'
Another, quoted by The Daily, appealed for help saying:
'We urgently need help. We cannot leave the ship. There are boats but we are
trapped.'
Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, merchant marine minister, said
the rescue operation had been made increasingly difficult by extremely poor
weather conditions. He said gale-force winds and choppy seas were hampering
rescuers
Several explosions have been heard on the Norman
Atlantic (pictured on a different voyage). Greek and Italian authorities have
sent several helicopters to help with the evacuation and rescue operation
following the blaze
Miltiadis Varvitsiotis,
merchant marine minister, said the rescue operation had been made increasingly
difficult by extremely poor weather conditions.
'This is a very difficult, a very complex rescue
operation,' he said. 'The visibility is poor and the weather conditions are
difficult.
'We are in constant contact with Italian authorities and
the Greek armed forces. We are committed to rescuing everyone on the ship,
and are trying to ensure that nobody will be left unaided.'
The ship is not thought to be in any immediate danger of
sinking, authorities said.
This is a very difficult, a very complex rescue
operation. We are committed to rescuing everyone on the ship, and are
trying to ensure that nobody will be left unaided
Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, merchant marine minister
It is currently about 42 nautical miles (48 miles, 78
kilometres) northwest of Corfu, close to the Albanian city of Vlora, but
continues to drift towards Italian waters.
Greek government officials said Prime Minister Antonis
Samaras was in contact with his Italian counterpart, Matteo Renzi, to
coordinate the operation 'at the highest level'.
Marco Di Milla, Italian coastguard spokesman, said the
rescue operation was likely to last for hours.
He said it would be up to the Greeks, in command of
rescue operations, to decide where the rescued passengers and crew would be
taken.
Greek authorities have sent five helicopters and a
military transport plane to the area to assist in the operation.
Italy has also sent resources to help with the rescue
effort, including a coastguard boat, an Italian Navy helicopter and an Air
Force aircraft.
At least eight merchant ships, which were in the area at
the time of the fire breaking out, have also joined the rescue effort and are
being used to form a barrier against winds of up to 55 miles per hour.