Greece ferry fire: A manager at the owner company speaks specially to BNT

The fire on the ferry off the island of Corfu most likely started from a lorry. This was stated on February 22 in a special interview for BNT by the International Relations Manager of the company that owns the ferry. According to him, the ship had passed a technical inspection 2 days before the fire incident.

Currently, the Greek authorities are towing the burnt ferry from the island of Corfu to another port to avoid the risk of the hull tilting and sinking. The removal operation will last 18 hours. The foreign ministry said there was still no trace of the seven Bulgarians that are missing.

On the fifth day after the ferry "Euroferry Olympia" caught fire - the search for 10 people - 7 of them Bulgarians - continues.

Passengers from the burning ferry between Greece and Italy relieved to be alive, 7 Bulgarians still missing

"The high temperatures on the ferry put the lives of the rescue team at risk. As far as I know there are a few more places on the ship where it is still burning, so they are trying to put them out so they can get to the inside of the ferry. We are hoping that the people who are missing will be found alive," said Paul Ciprianu, international relations manager of Grimaldi Lines.

Greek authorities continue to conduct an investigation into the causes of the fire.

"When we manage to get to all decks, we will be able to say exactly what happened. According to the initial information we have - the fire started in one of the lorries."

Hypothesis emerged that there were gas cylinders in the lorries and that this could have been the cause. It remains to be seen.

"We will check what was declared on the bill of lading documents of the lorries, what materials were inside them," Paul Kyprianou said.

The burning ferry was built in 1995 and is owned by the Grimaldi company, which has 130 vessels, about 30 of them ferries.

"And it had also passed a technical inspection by the Greek authorities two days before the incident - on 16 February. So the ferry was in very good condition and with this inspection everything on it has been checked," Paul Kyprianou said.

Drivers are completely banned from sleeping in the lorries while on the ferry.

"This is addressed by international regulations on shipping, so it's not only forbidden for the drivers, but for everyone travelling on the ferry. And there is no extra charge for cabin accommodation, it is included in the ticket price," said Paul Kyprianou.

The conditions in the cabins are good, the company assures. They have also taken care of the relatives of the missing drivers who have arrived in Greece and they will stay in Corfu at the company's expense.

Compensation to the passengers is also provided for.

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