Fire on ship near Greek Island, 100 Bulgarians on board

Fire broke out Friday, February 18, on a passenger ferry carrying 288 people. There were about 100 Bulgarians on board.

The ship was sailing from Greece to Italy. It caught fire this morning between 3 and 4 o'clock near Corfu Island in the direction of Italy.

Among the Bulgarians there are families with small children. One person with respiratory problems was reported slightly injured and taken to hospital. No other injuries or casualties were reported.

For several Bulgarians there is still no information where they are and whether they are alive, Rumen Metodiev from Petrich, one of the passengers on the ferry, told BNT.

The rescue operation lasted about 40 minutes. Three coastguard ships were involved.

The reasons for the incident are not known.

"We boarded this ship from Igoumenitsa and were on our way to Italy. I work as a lorry driver. We were lying down, asleep in the cabins and at about 3.30 - 4 o'clock I smelled smoke. The guys we were in the cabin with, I woke them up - I shouted - there's something going on here. I went out to see what was going on and saw that the ship was on fire. The organisation was good. We were taken to a safe place on the ship, then they put us on the boats that were in the ship. Then another ship came and picked us up. And the lorries, and the papers - everything was burned. There was no chance to put out the fire."

Metodiev also said that he was on the island of Corfu and said that there was good organisation as they checked passengers by name and whether they needed medical attention.

He suggested that they would probably be taken to Igoumenitsa and from there they would return to Bulgaria.