Rescuers try to evacuate hundreds from burning Italian ferry

It is unclear if have been casualties or if there are any passengers in the water

ATHENS: A dramatic rescue operation is under way to rescue 478 people from a burning ferry in gale-force winds off the Greek island of Corfu, Greek officials said Sunday.

Vessels close to the stricken ANEK Lines "Norman Atlantic", which caught fire 33 nautical miles off the small Greek island of Othonoi, rushed to give assistance after picking up its distress signal, the Greek coast guard said.

With high winds gusting up to 100 kilometres per hour and packing torrential rain and sleet, Greek authorities described efforts to rescue the passengers "as particularly difficult and complicated".

The blaze on board is said to have broken out in the ferry's car deck. Greek television network Mega said there were also tankers holding olive oil on the deck.

"Our shoes were melting while we were in the reception area," one passenger told the station.

It was unclear if there had been casualties or if there were any passengers in the water.

The Greek maritime ministry said 268 of the passengers were Greek, with the crew made up of 22 Italians and 34 Greeks.

Around 55 passengers were transferred to one Greek ship, while 150 others in a lifeboat were reportedly picked up by another merchant vessel, according to the Italian ANSA news agency.

Seven vessels were near the ferry to take passengers on board, with Greek and Italian firefighting ships on their way to the scene, which is in the middle of a busy shipping lane. At least three Italian and Greek helicopters circled overhead.

The "Norman Atlantic" had left the Greek port of Patras at 05:30am (0330 GMT) and had been heading to the Italian port of Ancona when the fire took hold.

The first rescued passengers were picked up by the Greek ship "The Spirit of Piraeus".

Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias told Mega that Italian authorities had responded to a Greek plea for assistance and they had now taken charge of the rescue operation. The rescue operation was being coordinated from the Italian ship "Europa".

The car deck of the Italian-flagged "Norman Atlantic", which is operated by the Greek ferry company ANEK Lines, was believed to have been holding 195 vehicles when the fire broke out.

According to rescued passengers, the intense heat rapidly affected the rest of the ship.

ANEK Lines was not immediately conctactable by AFP for comment.

The Italian navy said on Twitter it was sending three helicopters to the scene from its bases in Grottaglie and Catania in Sicily. Four coast guard patrol boats were also on their way.