UPDATE: DEATH TOLL RAISED TO 10 FROM THE FIRE ON THE ITALIAN-BUILT AND GREEK CHARTERED FERRY. FIRE HAPPENED WHILE IN ITALIAN WATERS
Death Toll in the Greek Ferry Fire Rises to 10
Fighting high winds and stormy seas, helicopter rescue crews on Monday
evacuated hundreds of people trapped aboard a Greek ferry that caught
fire off Albania.
The death toll climbed to 10 as survivors told of a frantic rush to
escape, caught among flames, pelting rain and passengers who fought
others for rescue.
The evacuation of the overnight ferry from Greece to Italy
was completed in the early afternoon with the rescue of 427 people,
including 56 crew members, said Italy's transport minister, Maurizio
Lupi.
The original ferry manifest listed 422 passengers and 56 crew members,
but Italian navy Adm. Giovanni Pettorino said 80 of those rescued did
not appear on it at all.
That backed up something that officials as high as Italian Premier
Matteo Renzi have hinted throughout the day: That the ferry may have
been carrying a number of illegal migrants trying to reach Italy.
Italian authorities said two boats were remaining in the Adriatic Sea to
continue the search for people who may still be missing, while a
priority was placed on comparing the list of those rescued and deceased
with the passenger list to determine how many people, if any, may still
be unaccounted for.
"We cannot say how many people may be missing," Lupi said.
Adm. Giuseppe De Giorgi, an Italian naval commander, said it was
possible others had fallen in the water when lifeboats were initially
deployed.
The problem wasn't just that the ferry carried people not officially
declared. It remained unclear how many people on the original manifest
never actually boarded the ill-fated ferry, which caught flames early
Sunday en route from the Greek port of Patras to the Italian port of
Ancona.
Of the 10 dead, one Greek man died Sunday trying to get into a lifeboat,
with his wife, who survived; and four bodies were recovered from the
sea on Monday. The circumstances and identities of the other three were
unknown.
The fire broke out before dawn Sunday on a car deck of the
Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic. All day and night, passengers huddled
on the vessel's upper decks, pelted by rain and hail and struggling to
breathe through the thick smoke.
Exhausted and cold from their ordeal, the largest group of 49 passengers
reached land Monday in the southern Italian port of Bari, more than 24
hours after the fire began.
Evacuees, many wrapped in blankets, made their way gingerly down the
exterior stairs with assistance, some thrusting their hands in a victory
sign as they waited their turn. Among them were four children. The
evacuees then boarded bright red fire department buses. Officials have
said hotels have been booked for them around town.
Later Monday, one of the rescue ships arrived at the Greek port of
Igoumenitsa, carrying some 69 rescued ferry passengers among the roughly
500 people on board, while seven people had been airlifted from the
ferry to Corfu.
But many rescued passengers remained on boats still searching off the
Albanian coast. Authorities said they eventually would be taken by
helicopter to land to allow the search to continue, without specifying
where.
The Greek and Italian premiers separately expressed their condolences to
the victims and gratitude to the rescue workers for persisting
throughout the night in worsening weather conditions, against winds over
40 knots (75 kph; 46 mph).
"Notwithstanding the weather and the darkness, which is another factor,
we persisted throughout the entire night," Pettorino told Sky TG24.
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10 dead, 414 rescued after fire cripples Greek ferry in Adriatic Sea
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Italian and Greek military and coast guard rescue crews battled gale-force winds and massive waves as helicopters plucked small groups of people and whisked them to safety aboard any of ten mercantile ships waiting nearby.
At least 414 people were rescued from the ferry, and seven people died in the accident. There were reports of five fatalities but the Italian Coast Guard said Monday that two more bodies were recovered, bringing the death toll to seven.
The vessel's captain and four Italian sailors remained on board to assist in rescue operations, Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said Monday. But by the afternoon, authorities said all crew members had left the boat.
One Greek man died after becoming trapped in a lifeboat chute, but the circumstances of the other six deaths were unclear. Several passengers also suffered injuries and were being treated at nearby hospitals.
A cargo ship with 49 people evacuated from the Norman Atlantic arrived in the Italian port of Bari on Monday, the first big group to reach land after rough seas forced the initial plan of docking down the coast in Brindisi to be scrapped.
The first to disembark in Bari was an injured man wrapped in a yellow striped blanket and wearing bandages around his bare feet, helped down the ship's ladder by two rescue workers.
Other evacuees, many wrapped in blankets, made their way slowly down the ladder with assistance, some thrusting their hands in a victory sign as they waited their turn. Among them were four children. TV crews and relatives gathered on the docks below in near silence.
The evacuees then boarded bright red fire department buses. Officials have said hotels have been booked for them around town.
The BBC reported that an Italian air force pilot who participated in the rescue told state television that his helicopter's cabin filled with smoke from the fire, adding another degree of difficulty to the operation.
The Italian Navy said a man and his injured wife were transported by helicopter to the southern Italian city of Brindisi. The Greek Coast Guard said the pair -- both Greek passengers -- was found in a lifeboat rescue chute.
Other survivors had been taken to southern Italian hospitals in smaller numbers in the hours immediately after the rescue operation got underway. Several were treated for hypothermia, some for mild carbon monoxide poisoning and one woman suffered a fractured pelvis, officials said.
Dr. Raffaele Montinaro at the hospital in Lecce said the three children taken there were in "excellent" condition, and emergency room doctor Antonio Palumbo said a pregnant woman was also in good condition.
"For sure they are scared," said Eligio Rocco Catamo, manager of the Copertino hospital. "But I should say that I was impressed by the calm and the serenity they are showing."
A local convent was housing survivors who were released from the hospital.
Helicopters rescued passengers throughout the night, completing 34 sorties with winds over 40 knots (46 miles per hour). The Greek coast guard said seven people had been airlifted from the ferry to Corfu.
Those remaining on board were given thermal blankets and found places to wait protected from the elements `'even if the conditions remain very difficult," Pettorino said.
The fire broke out before dawn Sunday on a car deck of the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic, carrying 422 passengers and 56 crew members. All day and night, passengers huddled on the vessel's upper decks, pelted by rain and hail and struggling to breathe through the thick smoke.
The second injury was to a member of the Italian military involved in the rescue operation, Pettorino said.
Pettorino said two Italian tugs tried to attach themselves to the ferry in the evening, but were frustrated by the thick smoke. Eventually the tugs managed to attach the line to stabilize the ferry, ANSA reported.
Passengers described scenes of terror and chaos when the fire broke out as they slept in their cabins.
"They called first on women and children to be evacuated from the ship," Vassiliki Tavrizelou, who was rescued along with her 2-year-old daughter, told The Associated Press.
Dotty Channing-Williams, mother of British ferry passenger Nick Channing-Williams, said she had managed to speak to her son before he and his Greek fiancee were airlifted to safety. She said she had complained to her son that there was no information available for families.
"He said `Well, it's an awful lot worse for us because we're actually standing out here in the pouring rain, and thunder and lightning, and we really just don't know exactly what's going to happen."'
Italian navy Capt. Riccardo Rizzotto said the ultimate destination of the stricken ferry was unclear. Some Italian officials said it would likely be towed to an Italian port, even though it was currently closer to Albania.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Fear of Stowaways as Ferry Death Toll Off Coast of Greece Rises to 13
VERBANIA,
Italy — The death toll in a ferry fire off the Greek coast rose to 13
on Tuesday, including two Albanian workers who died while trying to
connect a cable to the stricken ship. But prosecutors said that the
number could rise because of fear that passengers who boarded illegally
might have been trapped in the hold, where the fire raged.
Exhausted
passengers from the ferry, the Norman Atlantic, continued to arrive by
ship at various Mediterranean ports on Tuesday, but the authorities were
unable to say with certainty how many people had been rescued in a
30-hour-plus operation that involved ships, planes and helicopters from Albania, Greece and Italy. High winds and stormy seas slowed ships carrying survivors.
Giuseppe Volpe, the prosecutor in Bari, Italy,
whose office was given jurisdiction over the criminal investigation
into Sunday’s fire, said the discovery of at least three stowaways — two
Afghans and a Syrian — among the survivors suggested that there could
be others who boarded illegally.
Survivors Airlifted From Burning Ferry
Video from the Italian Coast Guard shows a
ferry in flames off the coast of Greece. The vessel, carrying 422
passengers and 56 crew members, was on its way to Italy.
Video by Via Reuters on
Publish Date December 29, 2014.
Photo by Marina Militare, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images.
“The
ship was transporting stowaways, hidden in the hold,” Mr. Volpe said at
a news conference in Bari. “Our fear is that once we have recovered the
wreck we will find other dead people on board.”
It
remained unclear how many passengers had been on the boat, and how many
had been rescued. Mr. Volpe said as many as 499 people may have been on
board, not including any possible stowaways, but his office could
verify only those who were rescued by Italian ships. The count was
complicated after survivors were distributed among various vessels
flying different national flags.
Mr.
Volpe said his figures indicated that 179 people remained missing, but
he said he hoped those passengers were on ships that had taken survivors
to Greece. An Italian Navy ship remained off the Albanian coast to look for bodies.
The
Italian Navy said Tuesday evening that the San Giorgio, a military ship
carrying the highest number of survivors, was arriving in Brindisi,
Italy.
Mr.
Volpe’s office, in conjunction with the Albanian authorities, on
Tuesday took legal custody of the Norman Atlantic, which will be towed
to Brindisi. There, investigators will search the ship for evidence of
other stowaways and try to determine the cause of the fire, which began
early Sunday morning after the ferry left a Greek port en route to
Ancona, Italy. The ship’s captain and owner are under investigation.
Mr.
Volpe said that law enforcement officers had already interviewed dozens
of passengers, and that passengers’ cellphone images would be examined.
Survivors
interviewed by the Italian news media described confusion and fear
onboard, and braving cold winds and high waves as they waited rescue.
The Norman Atlantic flies an Italian flag but had been leased by a Greek
company, with crew members from both countries.