The rescue service worked all night to put out the fire on board the ship, the state TV channel reported be.
A total of 278 passengers were evacuated from the ship and taken to Corfu island. The Greek coast guard said divers were deployed to search for the missing.
trapped in flames
Two people trapped in the flames for several hours were rescued from the ship on Friday night. According to ERT, this is an unregistered Afghan immigrant and a Bulgarian truck driver.
They were taken to hospital, as were about a dozen other passengers with difficulty breathing and minor injuries.
The Italian ferry is located northeast of the island of Ericosa. The Euroferi Olympia was on its way to Italy from the Greek city of Igoumenitsa when the fire broke out at 4 pm on Friday.
Unknown cause of fire
Local fisherman Nikos Pardis told state TV channel ERT that several fishing boats came and circled the ship, looking for people in the water.
– We can hear the explosions, it must have been the trucks that were blown up, he says.
No deaths have been reported since the fire, but it is not uncommon for passenger ships in the Mediterranean to have unidentified passengers.
The cause of the fire is unknown and an investigation has been opened.
The previous ship fire was in the Adriatic in December 2014 on the Italian passenger ship Norman Atlantic. Thirteen people were killed in the fire.
“Coffee trailblazer. Certified pop culture lover. Infuriatingly humble gamer.”
