Hundreds of people rescued after fire breaks out on Greece-Italy ferry
February 18, 2022, 8:44 am

Hundreds of people rescued after fire breaks out on Greece-Italy ferry

Sea ferry (File photo: Pixabay)

The Devdiscourse reported, citing Reuters, the Greek coastguard said that hundreds of people were rescued from a ferry that caught fire between Greece and Italy in the early hours of Friday.

The coast guard said 237 passengers and 51 crew members were on board the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia and most of them had boarded rescue vessels. Authorities said that there were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. The ferry had sailed from Igoumenitsa, the largest port in western Greece, and was headed to the Italian port of Brindisi, about nine hours away.

The fire, the cause of which was not immediately known, broke out near the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea. A video uploaded on Greek news website Proto Thema showed the 183-metre (600 foot) ferry engulfed in flames and huge plumes of smoke. "May Day" was blasting from speakers.

Fire fighter- Representative image (File photo: Pixabay)

One of the passengers on board a rescue vessel told Mega TV via telephone: "We were woken up around 430 a.m. The fire probably broke out in the garage." At least three coast guard vessels and one Italian financial police vessel were involved in the rescue operation.

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Authorities said said that ship tracking data provided by Refinitive Eikon showed the Euroferry Olympia performing a U-turn northwest of the North Corfu channel. The evacuated passengers and crew were being taken to the port of Corfu.

According to the company's website, the ferry is part of the fleet of group Grimaldi Lines and has a capacity of up to 560 passengers.

Source: devdiscourse

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.