Ferry On Fire: Britons Trapped On Burning Ferry Corfu

Ferry On Fire: Britons Stranded

Passengers jump from the ship as those trapped on the burning vessel report choking smoke and shoes melting on the decks.

A number of Britons have been rescued from a burning ferry near Corfu - but many other passengers remain trapped.

The Italian Navy said 190 people had been plucked from the stricken Norman Atlantic by Sunday evening, more than 14 hours after the fire erupted.
One person has died and 287 remain on board the ferry, which is now adrift in rough seas between Italy and Albania.
Passengers still trapped on the ferry described how thick smoke engulfed the ferry, and said the ship had begun to list to one side.

A map showing the location of the ferry

"There's a lot of smoke, we can't breathe," passenger Nikos Papatheodosiou told Greece's state-run Nerit television as darkness fell. "Panic, there's panic," he said.
Passengers described scenes of terror and chaos when the fire broke out as they slept in their cabins.

Mother Speaks To Brit On Ferry

Early official reports, based on passenger manifests, had indicated only two Britons were on the ferry, but it's understood additional citizens who were not travelling on British passports may also have been aboard.
One of the rescued Britons is show-jumper Nicholas Channing-Williams, winched to safety along with fiance Regina Theofilli.
His mother Dottie Channing-Williams  told Sky News tonight: "Thank God they have been airlifted to safety.
"I don't know what shape they are in. But I want to know how they are and where they are and I'm waiting for the Foreign Office to get back to me."
The vessel caught fire just after 6am local time about 35 miles north of Corfu, close to the Albanian city of Vlora, while it was travelling from Patras, Greece, to Ancona in Italy with 478 on board.
Italian and Greek helicopter crews prepared to work through the night to airlift passengers off the ferry.
An Albanian tugboat was this evening towing the stricken car ferry to Albania's main port of Durres , an official in the port of Vlore said on Sunday.

Ferry Fire: Mum And Child Rescued

Some passengers called Greek TV stations in desperation as they huddled on top of the Norman Atlantic while the ship was battered by gales.
Most of those rescued were transported to other nearby ships, but nine were taken to the Italian town of Lecce.
Of those, three children and a pregnant woman were being treated for hypothermia in Lecce hospital.
Dr Raffaele Montinaro said the children were in "excellent" condition, and emergency room doctor, Antonio Palumbo, said the mother's condition was also good.
Greek and Albanian authorities, using planes and at least five helicopters, are taking part in the rescue operation which is being led by the Italians.
The heat from the fire is said to be so intense it was melting the shoes of those who were not on the top decks.
One passenger who called Greek TV said: "They tried to lower some boats, but not all of us could get in. There is no coordination. It's dark, the bottom of the vessel is on fire. We are trying to save ourselves."

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   Gallery: More Than 100 People Saved From Vessel Near Corfu
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6. Gallery: More Than 100 People Saved From Vessel Near Corfu

Another, quoted by Greek newspaper The Daily, appealed for help saying: "We urgently need help. We cannot leave the ship. There are boats but we are trapped."
Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, Greece's Merchant Marine Minister, said several ships are in the area, the closest of which is the cruise ship Europa, which is leading the rescue operation.
He said: "We are doing everything we can to save those on board and no one, no one will be left helpless in this tough situation."
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Twitter he is talking to his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras about the rescue effort.
The ship is owned by the Italian company VISEMAR de Navigazione and chartered to Greek ferry firm ANEK Lines SA. It runs on a route which in the summer is popular with tourists heading to the southern Greek mainland.
Further north, a Turkish-registered merchant ship sank in the northern Adriatic Sea off the Italian port of Ravenna on Sunday following a collision with another vessel in rough seas. One died and five crew members are unaccounted for.