On Sunday, 28 December 2014 disaster has struck the Italian ferry that caught fire off the Greek coast of Corfu. The vessel with almost 500 people on board was coming from the Greek port of Patras and was heading to Ancona, Italy. Hundreds of people have been trapped on the burning ferry adrift between Italy and Albania and coast guard rescue personnel along with Greek and Italian military are struggling against powerful winds and massive waves to rescue the passengers aboard the ferry. According to the Italian Navy 190 of the 478 people stranded on the ferry were rescued by air and relocated to merchant vessels passing in the area. Italian and Greek helicopter crews have been working through the night to lift passengers in pairs off the burning ferry now adrift in the Adriatic Sea.
The 26,900 tonne roll-on roll-off Norman Atlantic ferry chartered by Greek company ANEK carrying 222 vehicles, 422 passengers and 52 crew members was 44 nautical miles northwest off the coast of Corfu when it sent a distress signal on Sunday which the Greek coast guard intercepted. A fire broke out aboard the ferry on the lower car deck. One person has been killed and more are trapped on the ferry and rescue operations are still ongoing and will continue through the night. The flames which were visible from the outside of the ship were put down 16 hours later after the fire began at 8:30 PM (1930 GMT). Most of the passengers aboard are Greek but the passenger list included other countries as well such as Italy, Turkey, Germany, Austria and The Netherlands.
The real danger that makes matters worse and gravely complicates the rescue is the extremely bad weather with winds up to 88 kph that makes this operation the most complex the Greek authorities have ever faced but the rescue crews taking part in this are determined to not let anyone behind on the ferry, as Merchant Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said. An Albanian coastguard vessel also takes place in the rescue as well as a number of 10 merchant ships lined up to protect the ferry from the towering waves. Although the heavy rain helped contain the fire aboard the ship the passengers had to move to the upper deck where there are lifeboats. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is in contact with his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi for the lenght of the rescue operation.
The Norman Atlantic was carrying about 500 passengers when it caught fire
Thus far, the rescue operation has proven most difficult due to worsening weather conditions but Italian and Greek authorities still went all in with their effectives: two Greek Coast Guard tugboats and two firefighting vessels are heading towards the ship. A Greek frigate has been sent to the area, as well as a number of ships of the Italian Navy that are much closer. Flying above the ferry are a C-130 military transport plane, five coast guard rescue helicopters and a Greek Super Puma helicopter. As there are elderly and children aboard, the rescue operation will carry on with planes, helicopters and small commercial vessels in support capacity by winching up the people still aboard in small numbers until the rescue is completed.