Ferry Catches Fire Off Greek Coast With Hundreds on Board

VERBANIA, Italy — Italian, Greek and Albanian vessels battled gale-force winds and rough seas on Sunday as they tried to rescue hundreds of passengers stranded on a ferry that caught fire off the northwestern coast of Greece en route to Italy.

Italian news media reported that the fire broke out on the car deck of the ferry, which was heading to the Italian port of Ancona. The ship was carrying 422 passengers and 56 crew members, according to the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry. The ministry said that 234 of the passengers were Greek and that the ship was also carrying passengers from Turkey, Italy, Albania, Switzerland, France, Georgia, Belgium, Austria, Syria and other countries.

By about 5 p.m. Sunday, 161 people had been removed from the ship, according to Italian officials who were coordinating the rescue operation. But the fire on board had still not been put out, they said. More than 300 people were still on board.   Read More at NYTimes