Turkish passengers of burned-out ferry evacuated to Turkey

Turkish passengers of the ferry that caught fire while heading to Italy from Greece on Friday were evacuated to Turkey on Saturday, Anadolu reports.

The 23 passengers who had been placed in a hostel in Corfu after being rescued from the Euroferry Olympia were issued temporary passports by Turkey’s Consulate in Komotini in northeastern Greece.

The passengers were brought to Turkey’s northwestern province of Edirne by bus.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Fahri Ozgen, one of the evacuated Turkish nationals, praised the efforts of the Turkish diplomats in Greece and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Other rescued passengers Ugur Rusvenli, Hakan Ulusoy, and Hayrullah Cetin also expressed gratitude for Turkey’s efforts to evacuate them.

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Meanwhile, of the 11 missing passengers, a 21-year-old Belarussian was found alive in the stern of the ship, Greek state news agency AMNA reported.

This renewed the hopes that other passengers could be found alive, AMNA added.

On Friday, the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia set off from Igoumenitsa, western Greece to the Italian port of Brindisi, a trip of some nine hours.

The fire, whose cause is so far unknown, erupted near the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea.