The fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. GMT) off the northern coast of the Greek island of Corfu, between Greece and Albania.
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A fire broke out on Friday, February 18, on a liner flying the Italian flag in the Ionian Sea with 239 passengers and 51 crew members on board while making the connection between the Greek port of Igoumenitsa (north-west) and Brindisi (eastern Italy), the Greek port police said.
According to initial information, no casualties have been reported so far, according to the same source.
“All passengers are safe and are on lifeboats,” Secretary of State for the Merchant Navy, Kostas Katsafados, told Greek private radio Skai.
Passengers on the liner Euroferry Olympia are transferred to rescue boats and will be transported to the Greek island near Corfu, according to the Greek coast guard which has started a rescue operation.
“The captain of the liner asked the passengers to leave the boat”patrol boats and coast guard tugs were dispatched to the scene, said a press release from this service.
The incident took place around 4:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT) off the northern coast of the island of Corfu, between Greece and Albania, the Greek Coast Guard press office said.