Kerkyra: Fire rages on cruise ship, two people trapped in garage, 14 missing

Two people are trapped in the garage of the cruise ship Euroferry Olympia, on which went up in flames when a fire broke out before dawn today off of the island of Ereikousses, north of Kerkyra, en route from Igoumenitsa to the Italian port of Brindisi.

Fourteen passengers are missing.

According to the official passenger and crew list, there were 290 people on the Italian-flagged ship that (239 passengers and a crew of 51), as well as 25 automobiles and 153 trucks.

The Hellenic Coast Guards is to issue the official count, and all of the passengers who were on board are being taken to Kerkyra.

Ten passengers were taken to hospital – eight with respiratory problems, one with a heart problem, and one with a leg injury.

A statement issued by the company the ship, Grimaldi, the fire broke out in garage number three. It said that that the crew mobilised immediately to put out the fire and then followed standard procedures, alerting both Greek and Italian authorities and then deciding to evacuate the ship, which was constructed in 1995.

Two people trapped

The Coast Guard’s central operations centre staged a major operation to extricate two people trapped in the garage of the burning ship.

The Coast Guard guided passengers  to a safe spot so that can they could be transported to the shore.

A radio communication from the ship reportedly indicated that there may be missing people and a search-and-rescue mission was launched, but the information has not been corroborated as an official count on the island of Kerkyra has not yet been completed.

Explosions occurred when the ship was set ablaze.