Criminal investigation launched into how Italian-owned car ferry caught fire
As passengers evacuated, prosecutor investigates disaster that killed one
PUBLISHED : Monday, 29 December, 2014, 11:16pm
UPDATED : Monday, 29 December, 2014, 11:16pm
Agencies in Athens and Bari
Rescue workers aiding passengers on the air. Photo: Reuters
Prosecutors in the Italian port of Bari have opened a criminal investigation into how the car ferry Norman Atlantic caught fire at sea during a crossing from Greece to Italy.
As the Italian navy battled to complete the evacuation of the stricken ship yesterday, Bari prosecutor Giuseppe Volpe announced a probe to examine whether negligence contributed to the disaster in which at least one passenger died.
The announcement of the criminal probe came as a group of 49 exhausted people arrived at Bari after they were rescued from the stricken ferry.
Rescue workers were busy on land in aiding passengers in the ferry fire. Photo: AFP
The Italian-owned ship, which was travelling from Patras in western Greece to Ancona in Italy, has been drifting since a fire ripped through its car deck in the early hours of Sunday, leaving it impossible to steer.
A flotilla of merchant, coastguard and military ships from Greece, Italy and Albania have been involved in what has proved to be a fiendishly difficult evacuation operation.
One Greek passenger died when he fell into six-metre high waves while trying to get into a lifeboat on Sunday. His wife also ended up in the sea but was rescued. Some of the rescued passengers have displayed symptoms of hypothermia, and there were fears those still on board would be worse-affected.
A medical team was on board the ferry helping to decide who should be given priority for evacuation. The multinational crew, headed by Italian skipper Argilio Giacomazzi, 62, were expected to be the last off, in keeping with maritime tradition. Underlining the challenges posed by the continuing bad weather, the merchant ship Spirit of Piraeus, which had picked up the 49 evacuees, was unable to dock at the Italian port of Brindisi yesterday, opting instead to head to a bigger container port further up the coast at Bari.
In desperate scenes on Sunday, terrified passengers pleaded by mobile phone to be saved from the vessel, which was travelling through high winds and stormy seas.
"I cannot breathe, we are all going to burn like rats - God save us," cried one of the ship's cooks.
Italian authorities have mobilised four tugs to bring the Norman Atlantic to port - either in Italy or Albania - once the evacuation has been completed.
The miserable conditions on the exposed top deck and the bridge of the ship were recounted by passengers to the Greek television stations.
"We are on the top deck, we are soaked, we are cold, and we are coughing from the smoke. There are women, children and old people," passenger Giorgos Styliaras told Mega TV.
Another told the station that "our shoes were melting" from the heat of the fire shortly after it first broke out.
The Greek maritime ministry said 268 of the passengers on the ferry were Greek, with the crew made up of 22 Italians and 34 Greeks. The rest of the passengers included 54 Turks, 44 Italians, 22 Albanians, 18 Germans, Swiss, French, Russian, Austrian, British and Dutch nationals.
The car deck of the Italian-flagged ferry, built in 2009, was believed to have been holding 195 vehicles, including more than 20 tankers carrying olive oil.
Questions were now expected to be asked about why the fire was not contained.
Associated Press, Agence France-Presse
