BREAKING - Major Fire Breaks Out On Greek Ferry - Passengers Jumping Into Sea

HellasFrappe will be following the story all day, check in every so often for updates.

UPDATE 19:00 local time: One official from the Italian Coast Guard announced that one person died while attempting to escape from the blazing ship while another passenger was seriously injured and was being transported by Italian rescuers to Italy. Alpha TV in Greece said that the victim who died is a Greek national. On its part the Greek Coast Guard announced that at least 161 passengers have been rescued and a trapped woman was rescued and being transferred to the hospital. The Greek spokesman for the Coast Guard said that the rescue operation is going to continue throughout the night until all passengers and crew are brought to safety. Two S-70B helicopters which took off from Aktion earlier on Sunday apparently failed to reach the ship and are reportedly returning to Preveza. The second Super Puma helicopter took off from Aktion and would approach the area before new adverse storm conditions begin. Interestingly the Norman Atlantic's last inspection indicated serious shortages in survival equipment and elsewhere.

UPDATE 15:30 local time: A delicate and risky operation began just after 2 pm local time, according to many Greek press reports. Italian Super puma helicopters began rescuing passengers one by one from the Norman Atlantic with wired ropes and then continued to transport them to nearby ships. A large portion of the rescue operation will continue by air. It should be reminded that a super puma from Greece has also departed for the area. The operation is very dangerous due to the adverse weather conditions, even though the weather is getting a bit better. It was also reported that there are now eight ships next to the flaming ship, including one from the Italian navy, a tugboat, two helicopters and there are plenty of Italian aircraft there as well. According to MEGA Channel the reports that claimed that the ship was starting to sink have also been refuted.  Greek authorities denied the reports but the Italian media are insisting that the ship is beginning to tilt. The Italian Coast Guard however just denied the reports slamming the Italian media. Up until now, 111 people have been rescued. All live updates from this tragedy are changing from moment to moment and from second to second so continue to log on Frappers and we will try to keep you up-to-date as rescue efforts unfold.

UPDATE 14:45 local time: According to the Coast Guards spokesperson 14 people were rescued by some of the helicopters that have been dispatched to the area and in total about 150 people were evacuated and more than 300 remain on the ferry. Meanwhile, the Italian media is saying that the fire in the Norman Atlantic is under control. It was also announced that a Tugboat which started out from Corfu was forced to return to the island due to the very bad weather.

UPDATE 14:00 local time: Italy's Rai News 24 television channel showed what it claimed are pictures from the rescue operation that is currently underway at the Norman Atlantic. The footage, which was shown on Mega channel, clearly shows how difficult the operation actually is (BELOW). Meanwhile, seven military helicopters have been dispatched in the area while the Hellenic navy's Frigate Navarino is expected to arrive in Corfu in about 18 hours. The rescue operation is difficult because the winds of 10 Beaufort and waves as high as 7 meters are making the rescue operation very difficult and some 328 passengers are now in complete panic pf drowning. Greek press reports are now announcing that at least 150 of the total 478 on board have been  rescued. The passengers who had jumped into the sea to save themselves were collected by an Italian boat.  Two other cargo ships rush to the area to help in the rescue and recovery of passengers, as well as floating Coast boat, three helicopters, a C-130 and a Super Puma. The force that has been dispatched to the area includes:

• 2 E / P S-70 "AEGEAN HAWK" 
• 3 E / P AB-205
• 2 E / F SUPER PUMA
• 1 A / F C-130
• 2 E / W NH 90
• 2 E / P CH - 47D (Chinook)

credit defencenet

UPDATE 13:00 local time: The Skai television channel said in one report that the two passengers who had gone missing earlier were located trapped at one corner of the ship. Greece's Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis told reporters that the rescue operation is one of the most difficult that the Greek Coast Guard has ever had to deal with. He added that the adverse weather conditions forbid any air rescue operations in the area (even though it was reported that a Puma helicopter was close to the area). Also, Italian Premier Matteo Renzi tweeted that he is in direct contact with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and they are coordinating efforts to save the passengers from the blazing ship. There was also an announcement from a coast guard official who told the Mega television channel that some 478 passengers were still on board the ship, but that 56 had been rescued by Spirit of Piraeus. He said that out of the total number of passengers and crew, 234 are Greek nationals, while there are at least 34 members from the crew who are also Greek nationals. At the moment the ships that are aiding in the rescue operation include the Spirit of Piraeus, Plana, Aby Jeannete, Cruise Europa, Evinos, Genmar Argus, Stelios B and Serifos.

UPDATE 10:30 local time: About 150 passengers out of a total of 466 have been evacuated by vessels sent to assist in the operation, Skai TV reported. According to broadcaster, the captain of Norman Atlantic and 22 crew members are Italian nationals while the other 34 are Greek. Passengers who telephoned TV channels made dramatic descriptions of the situation on the ship. "The fire is still burning, we can see it at the lower deck where the boats are," a man told Mega channel. "The soles of our shoes are hot, the steal metal of the deck is burning."A major fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday in the garage of an Italian-flagged ferry while sailing from the Greek port of Patras to Italy's Ancona with 411 passengers, 55 crew and 222 vehicles on board, coast guard officials said.

ORIGINAL STORY - According to Greek press reports an international rescue effort is under way since Sunday morning after a major fire broke out in the early hours of the day in the garage of an Italian-flagged ferry sailing from the Greek port of Patras to Italy's Ancona with 411 passengers, 55 crew and 222 vehicles on board, coast guard officials said. The Norman Atlantic, hired by Greek ANEK shipping company, was 33 nautical miles off the small island of Othonoi and 12 nautical miles off the coast of Albania when it sent a distress signal.

     "The captain has requested the evacuation of the ship, according to initial information," coast guard spokesman Nikos Lagkadianos said.

A vessel sailing near the ferry, Spirit of Piraeus, is evacuating passengers, while others are being hauled down into the ferry's lifeguard boats.

The fire broke out in the garage of the vessel just before 6.00 am local time (0400 GMT).

A passenger on the Norman Atlantic who phoned Mega TV station said an evacuation is being attempted but the situation is very difficult:

     "They tell me the fire has reached the upper deck. We're surrounded, the wind is very strong, it's at least 8 Beaufort." 

A helicopter and two rescue vessels were on their way to the area and a container ship was nearby. Strong winds were blowing in the area, the coastguard said.

The Norman Atlantic ship with 411 passengers and 55 crew members was located in the open sea of Corfu in the area of Othonon, when a fire broke out in its garage, of so far unknown cause.

HellasFrappe will be following the story, check in every so often for updates

Sources: ANA-MPA, Mega TV, ProtoThema, enikos.gr