ATHENS, March 24 — Two more bodies were found Wednesday on an Italian ferry which caught fire on February 18 off the Greek island of Corfu, bringing the death toll to 11, Greece’s coastguard said.
Nine bodies had been previously found in the holds of the Euroferry Olympia, while two people were reported missing, an official at the coastguard media office told AFP.
But on Wednesday “two more bodies were discovered during the search of the ferry”, she added.
The violent fire, which broke out at dawn on February 18 with nearly 300 people on board, was only extinguished a week later.
Among the 281 survivors — 230 passengers and 51 crew members — were two Afghan migrants who were not on the passenger list, raising fears that others may have boarded the ship without being registered.
The fire broke out ten nautical miles north off Corfu in the Ionian Sea, two hours after the ferry left the Greek port of Igoumenitsa for Brindisi, Italy.
The investigation to determine the origin of the fire is still ongoing.
According to the Grimaldi Group, which owns the ferry, the fire started in a vehicle hold.
The ferry was carrying 153 commercial vehicles and 32 cars, according to the Grimaldi Group. — AFP
