Europe 1 with AFP 6:11 p.m., February 19, 2022

Twelve truck drivers are still missing on Saturday off the Greek island of Corfu, more than 30 hours after the start of a violent fire on board the Euroferry Olympia ferry in which they were traveling.

Twelve truck drivers are still missing on Saturday off the Greek island of Corfu, more than 30 hours after the start of a violent fire on board the Euroferry Olympia ferry in which they were traveling.

The boat of the Italian company Grimaldi, en route to Brindisi in Italy, caught fire at dawn on Friday, two hours after leaving the Greek port of Igoumenitsa, with 290 people, including 51 crew members, registered at edge.

A blaze fanned by the wind

The inferno fanned by the wind, the sporadic explosions and the infernal temperature rising to more than 500 degrees prevent rescuers from intervening on board the ship, according to the firefighters and the Greek coast guard.

Aided by a helicopter, a frigate and a firefighting vessel, divers and firefighters crisscross the disaster area, hoping to find the missing.

Tugboats managed to bring the ship closer to the coast, about ten km north of Corfu, according to public television ERT.

280 people saved

In addition to 278 people registered, two illegal Afghan migrants were also rescued, raising fears that other passengers not listed in the manifesto are missing, migrants often boarding illegally on ferries linking Greece to Italy.

The investigation by the Greek Maritime Accident Service has only just begun.

But the fire could have started from a truck parked in the holds, according to several concordant declarations.

However, several truck drivers reported to ERT on Saturday that they preferred to sleep in their truck than in the crowded cabins of the ferries.

The twelve reported missing are all truckers, seven from Bulgaria, three from Greece, one from Lithuania and one from Turkey, the Greek coast guard told AFP.

Their families joined Corfu on Saturday, supervised by a psychologist.