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The suspense for at least 12 missing passengers found on the ship "Euroferry Olympia" has been heightened.
Searches to locate and rescue the missing were suspended in the evening but resumed again today at first light.
Until last night, sources from the coastguard said, thermal loads on board, darkness and thick smoke were hampering the work of rescuers.
The official number of missing persons rose from 11 to 12 as one of the two people rescued from the ship's garage was not on the official list of passengers. He is an Afghan refugee who apparently boarded the ship secretly in order to make it to Italy. Among the missing persons are three Greeks, and it is possible that the number of missing persons is higher as there may be other migrants or refugees on board who are not on the official list.
How the two stranded passengers were rescued
The two stranded passengers reportedly found a way of escape in a "blind" spot on the ship, on the 5th underground deck, where they took refuge in order to escape the fiery flames. The rescue operation lasted several hours.
According to a statement by the Coast Guard, the two drivers were located by an EMAK team that boarded the ship by helicopter. Immediately Super Puma of the Air Force rushed to the spot to pick up the two drivers, who were evacuated to Corfu General Hospital for medical treatment. According to a local media report, the 65-year-old Bulgarian was intubated as his condition was more critical.
The chronicle of the burning ship
It all started at 4:00 in the morning, when the ship sent out a distress signal. It was the moment when the nightmare began for the 239 passengers of the ship "Euroferry Olympia" which had sailed from Igoumenitsa to Italy.
The passenger ship Euroferry Olympia, flying the Italian flag, had left Igoumenitsa at 01:30 in the morning for Italy. Very quickly an alarm was raised. The ship's crew spotted the fire in the third garage, but it quickly spread throughout the ship.
At 04.12 the ship's captain contacted the company's headquarters and informed them that a fire had broken out in garage number 3, and asked for immediate assistance. The distress signal reached the operations room of the Ministry of Merchant Shipping, where an order for immediate mobilisation was given. Five minutes later the ship was alerted. The crew informed the passengers and checks were initiated in all cabins. According to the Coast Guard, there were 239 passengers, 51 crew members, 25 vehicles and 153 trucks on board.
The ship was already engulfed in flames when the crew offered life jackets to the passengers. They immediately boarded the rescue boats that rushed to the scene, while passenger boats sailing in the area and rescue boats of the Coast Guard and the Italian Coast Guard approached the burning ship to rescue people. At 05.14 the abandonment procedure began.
Dawn found most of the occupants safe and sound on the deck of an adjacent vessel. All of them were wearing life jackets and isothermal blankets to protect them from the cold.
It was then that the rescue forces began the battle for the missing persons and the two stranded persons. Ships carrying firefighters with vehicles arrived right next to the Euroferry Olympia and threw themselves into the battle of extinguishing the fire, while a Coast Guard helicopter coordinated the efforts from the air.
Shocking testimonies of the passengers
After hours of agony and suffering, the first passengers to be rescued arrived at the port of Corfu. Among them were families with babies.
Most of them described their adventure as the worst experience of their lives, and could not hide the signs of fatigue and agony.
Truck drivers, upon learning that there were missing colleagues in the ship's garage, erupted: "The cars are parked in such a way that the driver can't get out. Most of the passengers, however, expressed their gratitude to the crew for helping to save them, and after their rescue, they immediately contacted their families. Those rescued have been safely transferred to hotels on the island and will immediately return to their place of work and residence.
Questions about the cause of the fire
The fire has brought the issue of ship safety back to the forefront. There are many questions about the causes of the fire, which have been put under the microscope of the authorities.
The fire on the "Euroferry Olympia" brought back memories of the tragedy eight years ago on the "Norman Atlantic", which ran the Patras - Igoumenitsa - Ancona route and claimed the lives of 11 people. Since then, security measures have become even stricter so that drivers of cars and trucks are not allowed access to the closed garages of the ships. That is, access is not allowed once the barge leaves and the catapult is closed," expert Sideris Mamidis told ERT.
One of the first questions is whether the crew had sealed off the garage for truck drivers so that they could not access their vehicles. They will also check if any refrigerated trucks had their refrigeration motors on.
"Once the refrigerated truck gets inside the barge it is internationally prohibited to operate. So it gets power from the ship that has outlets, gets power with waterproof cables and operates the chamber while it is inside the barge. So illegally with some tolerances on either side, the vehicle's motor can operate and the barge can catch fire."
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