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Frightening airborne rescue for stricken ferry passengers; five dead Frightening airborne rescue for stricken ferry passengers; five dead
(about 3 hours later)
Rescue teams working through the night battling gale-force winds, monster waves and frigid temperatures began air-lifting the victims from a ferry fire ashore to safety Monday. At least five people were killed and several injured in the sudden fire, the Greek coast guard said. Rescue teams off the Adriatic Sea battled gale-force winds and monster waves to carry more than 400 passengers to safety after a fire broke out on a Greek-operated ferry. At least five people were killed, officials said Monday after the all-night operation was completed.
A cargo ship with 49 survivors of the fire, which broke out Sunday morning aboard the passenger-car ferry, brought the first group of exhausted, freezing victims to the Italian port of Bari as dawn was breaking Monday - 24 hours after the fire erupted in the car hold while passengers were sleeping. In Italy, where the ferry was bound, Premier Matteo Renzi said the vessel’s captain and a team of Italian sailors remained aboard to try to link the vessel to a tug boat.
Italian and Greek rescue ships and helicopters winched passengers in small groups off the smoldering Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic ferry in freezing temperatures and brought them to safety aboard about a dozen mercantile ships nearby, the Associated Press reported. During the night, Italian and Greek rescue ships and helicopters winched passengers in small groups off the smoldering Norman Atlantic ferry in freezing temperatures and brought them to safety aboard merchant ships nearby, the Associated Press reported.
Greek officials described the rescue efforts as one of the most complex search and rescue operations they’ve had to deal with in years. At dawn, the first group of 49 survivors arrived in the Italian port of Bari — nearly 24 hours after the fire erupted in the car hold as the ferry traveled from Patras in western Greece to the Italian port of Ancona.
The cargo ship with the first evacuees landed in Bari at first light after first trying to dock overnight further down the coast at Brindisi. Massive waves prevented an overnight landing there, news reports said. Greek officials described the rescue efforts as one of the most complex rescue operations its teams have faced in years.
Italian navy officials said they hoped the rescue operation could be finished by night-fall. A statement from the Italian navy said 414 people had been rescued and five bodies were recovered, the AP reported. The ferry company had said previously there were 478 passengers and crew on board. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.
Greek authorities said four dead bodies were plucked from the frigid Adriatic sea. One man was found dead in a lifeboat escape chute on the ferry, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported. The dead included a Greek man who became trapped in a lifeboat chute, and four others whose bodies were recovered from the sea, the Greek Coast Guard said.
Passengers were being treated for hypothermia, news reports said. After initial rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather — ships could not reach the multi-decked ferry — Italian and Greek helicopter crews began the difficult and frightening airborne operation.
The stricken ferry, carrying 422 passengers, 56 crew members and 200 vehicles, was traveling between Patros in western Greece and the eastern Italian city of Ancona when the blaze erupted. Dottie Channing-Williams, the mother of a British man on the ferry, told the BBC that her son had just been rescued early Monday. She called the conditions at sea “very, very worrying.”
After catching fire, the burning ferry began drifting, buffeted by strong winds and waves, in the Adriatic Sea between Greece and Italy. Passengers huddled on the vessel’s upper decks, pelted by a driving rain and hail, waiting to be rescued from the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic, which was operated by the Greek ferry operator, Anek Lines.
After initial rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather — ships could not reach the multi-decked ferry — Italian and Greek helicopter crews began the difficult and frightening airborne operation Sunday afternoon. Nearby merchant ships lined up to form a barrier Sunday to protect the ferry from towering waves, Italian officials said.
Dottie Channing-Williams, the mother of a British man on the ferry, told the BBC Monday morning that her son had just been rescued after being separated from the large group he was traveling with. She called the rescue conditions “very very worrying.” The Italian Coast Guard said the fire was extinguished about 16 hours after the blaze began. But the ferry was then enveloped in dense smoke.
The operation was being coordinated from the Italian navy’s amphibious transport ship the San Giorgio, while the Norman Atlantic is towed to the an Italian port, the Associated Press reported from southern Italy. “With the wind, smoke entered into the helicopter cabin, acrid smoke,” Maj. Antonio Laneve told Italian state TV, Reuters reported.
The Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic was being operated by the Greek ferry operator, Anek Lines.
Passengers huddled on the vessel’s upper decks, pelted by a driving rain and hail, waiting to be rescued, according to news agencies on the scene.
Nearby merchant ships lined up to form a barrier Sunday to protect the ferry from the monster waves, Italian officials said.
The Italian Coast Guard, which was coordinating the rescue operation, said the fire was extingushed about 16 hours after the blaze began. But the ferry was then enveloped in dense smoke, which the Coast Guard said was being fueled by some hotspots inside the ship, news agencies reported.
“With the wind, smoke entered into the helicopter cabin, acrid smoke,” Maj. Antonio Laneve told Italian state TV, Reuters reported. Some of those they were trying to rescue were very frightened of being hoisted up by helicopter given the bad weather, he said.
Nine of those evacuated were taken to the Italian town of Lecce, authorities said. Of those, three children and a pregnant woman were being treated for hypothermia in Lecce hospital, Reuters reported.
Another injury was to a member of the Italian military involved in the rescue operation, Coast Guard Admiral Giovanni Pettorino said, Reuters reported.
Pettorino told Italy’s Sky TG24 TV that two Italian tugs tried to attach themselves to the ferry in the evening, but were frustrated by the thick smoke.
Passengers described scenes of terror and chaos when the fire broke out as they slept in their cabins.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.“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.
“Ships could not approach us because of the rain and winds,” Tavrizelou said in a telephone interview from Lecce. “We were at least four hours on the deck, in the cold and rain.”“Ships could not approach us because of the rain and winds,” Tavrizelou said in a telephone interview from Lecce. “We were at least four hours on the deck, in the cold and rain.”
She recalled the ship alarm going off and seeing fire from her cabin. “Then we heard explosions,” she said. It was not immediately clear what the explosions were, and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.She recalled the ship alarm going off and seeing fire from her cabin. “Then we heard explosions,” she said. It was not immediately clear what the explosions were, and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
Most of the passengers were Greek, officials said. But passengers also came from Turkey, Albania, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France. The crew is Greek and Italian.Most of the passengers were Greek, officials said. But passengers also came from Turkey, Albania, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France. The crew is Greek and Italian.
Deane reported from London.Deane reported from London.