Daily Archives: December 31, 2014

Armed special missions officers of the Greek coast guard set off from Corfu harbor for waters off the Ionian island of Othoni, responding to a distress signal from Moldovan-registered freighter Blue Sky M, on Tuesday.

 Italian authorities sent two helicopters Tuesday to meet a cargo ship believed to be carrying hundreds of migrants after a passenger sent a distress call earlier when the ship was off Greece.

The operation came two days after a Greek-operated ferry caught fire between Greece and Italy with the loss of at least 11 lives, prompting a two-day search and rescue effort.

Italian air force spokesman Capt. Stefano Testa said the Moldovan-flagged Blue Sky M freighter was about 20 miles (30 kilometers) off Santa Maria di Leuca, on the southernmost tip of the “heel” of boot-shaped Italy.

Port officials in Bari said the teams were landing on the ship as a precaution to see if there were any problems on board and ensure the situation was under control.

Earlier, Greek authorities scrambled a navy frigate and helicopter after a man who said he was a passenger called emergency services when the ship was off Corfu, saying hundreds of migrants were on board and needed water, food and blankets.

A Greek coast guard official said the helicopter located the ship within Italian waters, and its captain said the vessel wasn’t in distress and didn’t require assistance.

Italian authorities were notified, and the cargo ship continued on its own toward Italy, the official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak on the record.

Tens of thousands of migrants and refugees, most fleeing conflict or poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, attempt to reach the European Union each year, most heading by sea to Italy or Greece.

On Sunday, the Norman Atlantic passenger ferry caught fire in the same area. Authorities rescued more than 400 people, and are still searching for potential missing passengers from the vessel

There are growing concerns regarding the fate of 40 people thought to have been on board the stranded Norman Atlantic ferry but who have so far not been accounted for.

Italian authorities indicated that there were 475 people on the ship, of which 425 were rescued. Another 10, including two Greeks, died after a fire broke out on the vessel on Sunday morning as it sailed between Greece and Italy.

This leaves another 40, including 32 Greeks, who appear to be missing. A senior Greek coast guard official is being sent to Italy to help coordinate with authorities there as they try to check the names of those rescued against the ship’s manifest.

Norman Atlantic passengers arriving back in Greece complained that the fire alarm did not sound promptly and that the crew was not helpful in coordinating the evacuation.

Chrysostomos Apostolou, who was traveling with his family, claimed that crew members abandoned the ship before all the passengers had been evacuated.

There were also claims that some passengers fought their way to the front of the queue of those waiting to be evacuated.

“They pulled people away, pushing people aside to save themselves,” Greek soprano Dimitra Theodossiou told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

“Everyone there was trampling on each other to get onto the helicopter,” Christos Perlis, a 32-year-old truck driver told the Associated Press.

The Greek Coast Guard is due to hold a news conference at 2 p.m. local time to provide more details about the rescue operation.

source:ekathimerini.com