site.btaAll Bulgarians Rescued from Fire-Hit Italian Ferry
All Bulgarians Rescued from Fire-Hit Italian Ferry
Sofia, December 29 (BTA) - All Bulgarians travelling on the
fire-struck Italian ferry have been rescued, the Bulgarian
Foreign Ministry said Monday evening. A total of 11 Bulgarians
have been successfully evacuated. The rescue of seven of the
Bulgarian passengers has been officially confirmed by the local
authorities, while the other four personally reported that they
were safe and sound. The Italian military ship "San George"
rescued Bulgarians V. Dospatliev and A. Asenov. Another four
Bulgarians, Galin Haitov, Krassimir Estov, R. Todorova and S.
Argirova, were evacuated earlier.
A manifest, received at the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry from the
Greek Foreign Ministry, said that nine Bulgarians were presumed
to have been aboard the ferry which caught fire off the coast of
Greece early Sunday morning while sailing from Patra, Greece,
to Ancona, Italy.
Meanwhile, Greek coast guard service confirmed the death of five
persons in the ferry fire, the Associated Press reported. The
news agency quoted Greek Coast Guard spokesman Nikos Lagadianos
as saying that four more people were found dead on Monday
after a Greek citizen was reported killed on Sunday. Of the 478
passengers and crew on board the ferry, 391 have been rescued
so far, the Associated Press said. PK, VI/VE, MY,TK/
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