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Greek and Italian officials confirmed five deaths in the Norman Atlantic ferry fire incident which started more than 24 hours ago.
All of the passengers and crew had been evacuated from the vessel which burst into flames yesterday morning while adrift in the Adriatic sea.
Based on the safety infections prior to voyage, the ferry was found to have glitches in fire doors and emergency systems. According to an online report of Paris MoU on December 19, a ship safety organization, some of the parts of the ferry’s emergency system were absent, while some fire doors were found to be faulty.
It is yet to be determined whether these were repaired before the ferry sailed.
Meanwhile, a criminal probe has been launched by Italy to determine whether there was negligence on the vessel’s management.
Visemar Di Navigazione, the owner of the Norman Atlantic ferry, claimed that the vessel passed a technical inspection conducted on December 19.
Passengers Recount Horrible Experience
Although Teodora Douli survived the tragedy, her husband wasn’t lucky enough to make it.
“We spent four hours in the water. I tried to save him but I couldn’t. We are dying, we’re dying, he told me.”
She narrated how she witnessed her husband die in an interview with Italian news firm ANSA.
”He was bleeding through his nose, perhaps because he banged his head on the side of the ship.”
Several passengers claimed that the members of the crew were not around to help save people. In addition, the lifeboats were not working.
“The lifeboats did not work, there was only one of them in the water and none of the crew were there to help people,” said one of the rescued passengers.
Furthermore, tragedy survivor Fotis Santakidis revealed there were no life jackets available for passengers to use.
In his interview with Ethnos, he said: “I ran out. I looked out for a lifejacket but I could not find one.”
