Athens, Feb 25 (AFP/APP): Greece’s coastguard on Friday raised the death toll from an Italian-flagged ferry that caught fire last week to eight, with three truck drivers still missing.
The blaze ripped through the Euroferry Olympia last week near the Greek island of Corfu after it left Greece’s Igoumenitsa port for the Italian city of Brindisi.
Most of the passengers were swiftly evacuated within an hour, but a number of truckers were unaccounted for.
Firefighters recovered the body of a 58-year-old Greek lorry driver on Sunday.
A second body was found on the ferry’s car deck on Wednesday evening, after the ship was towed to the port of Astakos on Greece’s west coast to allow rescue operations to continue more safely.
Three more bodies were discovered on Thursday and three on Friday.
Most of the victims are yet to be identified, and Greek rescue services said that three people remain unaccounted for.
Three other truck drivers — a Belarussian, a Bulgarian and a Romanian — remain in hospital in Corfu with breathing difficulties after being rescued from the stricken ferry.
Among the 281 survivors — 230 passengers and 51 crew — were two Afghans who were not on the passenger list, sparking fears that more unregistered travellers could have been on board.
Follow the PNI Facebook page for the latest news and updates.
