At least 11 people from the Italian Euroferry Olympia that caught fire in the Ionian Sea are missing, and authorities have not yet been able to find them following the evacuation of passengers and crew members, the Greek TV channel Open reported on Friday.
According to its data, after the first count of people, it turned out that 11 people were missing. It is specified that the ships carrying evacuees are going to arrive in the port of Corfu at about 11:00 local time (12:00 Moscow time), there will be a thorough check and count of all those who were listed as passengers on the ferry. The Corfu Port Authority is gearing up to receive the passengers, and an ambulance team along with hospital doctors and a team of civil protection workers from the Ionian Islands region are waiting for them, the TV channel reported.
Based on up-to-date information from the ferry’s captain, there were 290 people on board (239 passengers and 51 crew members), as well as 25 cars and 153 trucks. Rescuers reported that 278 people were evacuated by ships bound for the port of Corfu, while one passenger was taken by boat to a hospital with breathing problems. As a result, there is still no information about the 11 missing people, it is not known whether they were passengers or crew members. The TV channel stated that a fire broke out on one of the ferry’s decks, where automobiles were located. It is possible that some of the drivers might have been inside.
