Zürcher Nachrichten - Greek rescuers find first ferry blaze victim

EUR -
AED 4.100273
AFN 78.60757
ALL 98.166966
AMD 432.286638
ANG 1.997847
AOA 1023.661719
ARS 1274.492205
AUD 1.739351
AWG 2.012159
AZN 1.902168
BAM 1.95574
BBD 2.26123
BDT 136.075794
BGN 1.958829
BHD 0.422187
BIF 3332.496993
BMD 1.116315
BND 1.454255
BOB 7.738761
BRL 6.322034
BSD 1.119965
BTN 95.745041
BWP 15.144532
BYN 3.665087
BYR 21879.783696
BZD 2.24963
CAD 1.559549
CDF 3204.942189
CHF 0.935299
CLF 0.027413
CLP 1051.967484
CNY 8.048081
CNH 8.048713
COP 4704.554582
CRC 567.282465
CUC 1.116315
CUP 29.582361
CVE 110.261592
CZK 24.899757
DJF 199.433835
DKK 7.461011
DOP 65.907963
DZD 148.865399
EGP 55.928271
ERN 16.744732
ETB 151.194627
FJD 2.537725
FKP 0.842071
GBP 0.840567
GEL 3.05914
GGP 0.842071
GHS 13.887571
GIP 0.842071
GMD 80.937172
GNF 9698.700213
GTQ 8.598734
GYD 234.312757
HKD 8.722499
HNL 29.141099
HRK 7.532941
HTG 146.54547
HUF 402.867531
IDR 18412.786848
ILS 3.96752
IMP 0.842071
INR 95.543378
IQD 1467.15465
IRR 47010.84053
ISK 145.891703
JEP 0.842071
JMD 178.534481
JOD 0.791807
JPY 162.594147
KES 144.755526
KGS 97.622219
KHR 4481.861466
KMF 492.857526
KPW 1004.660245
KRW 1561.859763
KWD 0.343145
KYD 0.933371
KZT 571.02235
LAK 24221.251321
LBP 100346.698283
LKR 335.109642
LRD 223.983077
LSL 20.217275
LTL 3.29619
LVL 0.675249
LYD 6.178809
MAD 10.389879
MDL 19.509397
MGA 5019.844837
MKD 61.528098
MMK 2343.870677
MNT 4001.744803
MOP 9.015121
MRU 44.32763
MUR 51.47373
MVR 17.25866
MWK 1941.939975
MXN 21.73009
MYR 4.795735
MZN 71.336723
NAD 20.217275
NGN 1788.71739
NIO 41.208726
NOK 11.593835
NPR 153.192265
NZD 1.897963
OMR 0.429497
PAB 1.119965
PEN 4.129072
PGK 4.654856
PHP 62.294316
PKR 315.375252
PLN 4.268489
PYG 8941.723611
QAR 4.081974
RON 5.106255
RSD 117.226377
RUB 90.497203
RWF 1603.750428
SAR 4.186446
SBD 9.31055
SCR 15.922308
SDG 670.351558
SEK 10.907859
SGD 1.452108
SHP 0.877249
SLE 25.344455
SLL 23408.578004
SOS 640.080215
SRD 40.8365
STD 23105.476908
SVC 9.799697
SYP 14514.229131
SZL 20.222375
THB 37.223582
TJS 11.546543
TMT 3.912686
TND 3.376696
TOP 2.614527
TRY 43.377235
TTD 7.596765
TWD 33.732379
TZS 3021.006621
UAH 46.488763
UGX 4097.873335
USD 1.116315
UYU 46.59856
UZS 14520.55117
VES 105.163869
VND 28936.572095
VUV 135.253884
WST 3.10171
XAF 655.936725
XAG 0.034581
XAU 0.000349
XCD 3.016899
XDR 0.815775
XOF 655.936725
XPF 119.331742
YER 272.496621
ZAR 20.143411
ZMK 10048.183034
ZMW 30.104069
ZWL 359.453134
  • CMSC

    -0.0500

    22.05

    -0.23%

  • BCC

    0.9200

    91.91

    +1%

  • CMSD

    0.0472

    22.06

    +0.21%

  • NGG

    1.2500

    71.28

    +1.75%

  • SCS

    0.0000

    10.5

    0%

  • BTI

    1.2700

    42.64

    +2.98%

  • AZN

    0.8500

    68.81

    +1.24%

  • RBGPF

    64.5000

    64.5

    +100%

  • GSK

    0.4991

    37.64

    +1.33%

  • RIO

    -0.1100

    62.64

    -0.18%

  • JRI

    0.1600

    12.9

    +1.24%

  • BP

    0.1300

    29.76

    +0.44%

  • BCE

    -0.0700

    21.56

    -0.32%

  • VOD

    0.1800

    9.45

    +1.9%

  • RELX

    0.5300

    54.57

    +0.97%

  • RYCEF

    0.0200

    10.72

    +0.19%

Greek rescuers find first ferry blaze victim

Greek rescuers find first ferry blaze victim

Rescuers searching a burning ferry off the Greek island of Corfu on Sunday recovered the body of a trucker, the first confirmed fatality, as a 21-year-old Belarussian man was found alive three days after the blaze began.

Text size:

The 58-year-old Greek victim was one of 11 truck drivers -- seven Bulgarians, three Greeks and one Turk -- who had been unaccounted for on Sunday, three days after the fire struck, the Greek Coastguard told AFP.

Fire chief Dimitris Kontogiannis, who is coordinating the rescue operation, told Alpha tv on Sunday evening that the search for survivors would continue throughout the night.

On Sunday morning, 50 hours after the fire broke out, a man spotted on the stern of the stricken vessel was rescued alive.

The ferry was 1.5 miles (about two kilometres) off the northern part of Corfu, the coastguard said.

The smiling Belarussian was taken to Corfu on a coastguard boat wearing flip flops and put in an ambulance, television footage showed.

"I'm fine", he told journalists before being transported to hospital where he is expected to stay at least until tomorrow.

"Tell me I'm alive," the truck driver, had told rescuers, according to the Proto Thema news website.

"I was in my cabin. I went to the lower deck. I heard voices. I did not see others," the survivor told rescuers and doctors in the hospital where he was treated.

The news of the man's "miraculous" survival, according to Greek media, had raised hopes further lives might be saved.

"The ship may still have safe parts for the passengers," Andreas Korikis, who helped with the rescue on Friday told Athens News Agency (ANA).

"As we saw, one of them came out and the hope lives on. The search continues but in some places the access is impossible."

According to the fire brigade, at least 40 firemen were deployed in the area on Sunday morning to help with rescue efforts. Ten people now remain missing.

"The thermal load and the toxicity on the vessel remain high. In some areas, fire is still burning. The operation is really delicate," shipping deputy minister, Costas Katsafados told Skai.

- 'Miserable' conditions -

The blaze broke out on the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia late Thursday as it sailed from Igoumenitsa in Greece to Brindisi in Italy, with nearly 300 people aboard.

Rescuers had managed to save 280 passengers on Friday, evacuating them to Corfu.

The man rescued on Sunday was one of those drivers, the coastguard said.

The vessel was officially carrying 239 passengers and 51 crew, as well as 153 trucks and trailers and 32 passenger vehicles, the Grimaldi company has said.

But the coastguard has said two of those rescued were Afghans not on the manifest, sparking fears that more undocumented passengers could also be missing.

The missing truckers reportedly slept in their vehicles because cabins on the vessel were overcrowded.

Ilias Gerontidakis, the son of a missing Greek trucker, told the Proto Thema online newspaper the Olympia was "miserable from every point of view".

"It had bed bugs, it was dirty, it had no security systems," he said as he waited at the port for news.

"It had 150 lorries inside. Normally it should have 70 to 75 cabins, but it only has 50. They force us to sleep four people in a cabin", he said.

"My father, from what I was told, slept in the truck."

The vessel owner Grimaldi rejected the accusations, saying in a statement on Sunday that its ships, cabins and public spaces, are "regularly disinfected" and "the inspection of the Greek authorities on February 16, 2022 in the port of Igoumenitsa had satisfying results".

It added that its electronic booking system prevents overbooking and that no passenger is allowed on the vehicle decks.

Grimaldi added that "the 77 cabins (308 beds) and the 409 folding seats could easily accommodate the 239 passengers for a journey of nine hours".

- Agony -

News of the rescue of the Belarussian rippled through the relatives of those still missing who have an agonising wait in the port of Corfu.

Ert showed emotional scenes of a woman being carried away after fainting while others pleaded with the rescuers to hurry.

"He is alive, I tell you. He is alive. Do what you can. Please. They will not be able to live any longer…," Vana Bekiari, the wife of a missing Greek truck driver told ANA.

The last shipboard fire in the Adriatic occurred in December 2014 on the Italian ferry Norman Atlantic. Thirteen people died in that blaze.

B.Brunner--NZN