A rescue effort is on the way after an Italian flag ropax ferry had caught fire in the Adriatic in the night during a voyage from Greece to Italy, media reports say.
“The Norman Atlantic car ferry was just over 40 miles northwest of Corfu when it sent out a distress signal to the Greek coast guard. The fire broke out in the lower deck garage of the vessel, Italian officials have said, at around 4.30am local time (2.30am GMT),” the Independent newspaper in London reported on its website..
“It was unclear whether there had been casualties or if any passengers were in the water, though officials said wintry water temperatures would make survival in the sea difficult unless rescue came quickly,” the report said.
There are almost 500 people on board the ship, according to Reuters.
Norman Atlantic is of 26,904 gross tons and it was built by the Visentini shipyard in Italy in 2009. The ship is a standard design unit of a long series of ropax ferries built by the shipyard. Like many of the units of the series, it flies the Italian flag.
