A total of 288 people were rescued “in optimal health conditions” after set fire this morning to the Italian-flagged ship in which they were traveling when it was off the coast of the Greek island of Corfu and police ships from both countries intervened in the operation, official sources reported.
The fire originated in the garage of a Grimaldi Lines company ship that was to link Corfu with Brindisi, in Italy, for reasons that were being investigated, according to the newspaper La Repubblica.
Around 4 local time (midnight in Argentina), the members of the ship “Monte Sperone” of the Italian Guardia di Finanza rescued 243 people and the rest were evacuated by members of the Greek Coast Guard.
“They are all in optimal health conditions. We were in Greek territory for an assistance operation, they called us because the ship had to be evacuated due to a fire and we went”; second-class captain Simone Cristalli, aboard the ship of the Italian police force, recounted in a telephone dialogue with Télam.
In the boat, with a total capacity for 588 people, 51 crew members and 237 passengers were traveling.
The ship is regularly used by transport workers who cross from Greece to Italy with trucks, according to Italian media.
