Euroferry Olympia: One of the missing was found alive at the stern

A missing passenger was found alive at the stern of the Euroferry Olympia, the ship that has been burning since Friday near Corfu.

According to the first information, the man is in good health, the rescuers have contacted him and the rescue operation has already started.

The Euroferry Olympia, more than 48 hours after the start of the fire, can not be reached by rescuers, as the temperature is too high.

In fact, as stated by the Minister of Shipping, Giannis Plakiotakis, the personnel will be reinforced in the coming hours to rescue the remaining missing.

The head of the EMAK rescue team that is operating at the spot spoke to SKAI television, saying that there is a high thermal load but also many dangerous gases that make the ship inaccessible.

“When we get close, apart from the high temperature, the smell from the gas emissions is unbearable.”

He stressed that the problem his team is facing at the moment is the time spent on the ship. “We can not stay more than 10-15 minutes. “If the thermal load falls and the toxicity of the gases is reduced, we will be able to approach, to make openings”, he stressed.

It is characteristic that according to experts, the temperature inside the ship now reaches 2,000 degrees! This unfortunately greatly reduces the chances of the missing being found alive.

The fatal omissions that led to the disaster – What the spot check on the “Euroferry Olympia” had shown

At the same time, the developments in the case of the burning ship, which has been burning for more than 40 hours off Corfu, are rapid. All this, of course, at a time when the anxiety for the 12 missing has peaked.

An expert investigator who spoke to SKAI, tries to “shed light” on important aspects around the incident.

On the occasion of the complaint of rescued, relatives of missing persons but truck drivers that drivers were sleeping illegally in them, he explains that in each truck there are two drivers and the ticket is for one: so the second one usually stays in the vehicle.

At the same time, a vital element is that when a ship arrives at port, the fire detection system shuts down and then they either forget to open it or do not open it because there are drivers in the garages who may smoke during the voyage.

The missing may be alive

In any case, the expert’s assessment that the missing can be found alive if they are in the underground garages, there is ventilation and good insulation so that the smoke does not pass through the fire, provides a “ray of optimism”.

Incomplete manuals in the last check

An important element for the investigation of the case are the findings that result from the last inspection that took place on the ship on February 16 as it seems that its fire safety manuals were incomplete.

At the same time, there were deficiencies in cleanliness and sanitation, in the leisure, catering and dining facilities.

Finally, the workspaces did not have ventilation, according to the protocols.

It is noted that Grimaldi Lines that owns the ship stated that according to what they know, the fire started from a truck that was in the third garage and point out that the ship was able to accommodate more than twice as many people as the passengers it actually carried.

At the same time, they claim that no one was in the garage as it is the company’s policy to carry out strict controls.