Italy ferry fire: Survivors' stories

The rescue operation at the Norman Atlantic, 29 Dec


The rescue operation at the Norman Atlantic concluded on Monday
More than 400 people were rescued from the decks of a burning ferry in the Adriatic Sea, in a difficult, operation which saw helicopter crews struggling against gale-force winds, massive waves and thick smoke.

Here are some accounts of what happened from surviving passengers.
Giorgos Stiliaras - 'Full of smoke'
Mr Stiliaras told Greek Mega TV that people were having trouble breathing because of the smoke.
Speaking from the ship's deck on Sunday he said: "We are outside, we are very cold, the ship is full of smoke, the boat is still burning, the floors are boiling.
"The boats that came [to rescue us] are gone, and we are here. They cannot take us. The weather is too bad and they could not lift us."
He added: "There was no proper alert, and I think they did it to avoid creating panic but it was the smell that got us up, all of us, the smell of burning plastic."
Teodora Douli - 'I watched my husband die'
Ms Douli, 56, tried to escape the ship with her husband but both fell into the water.
She told Italy's Ansa news agency that help had come too late for her husband.
"I tried to save him but I couldn't," she said. "I watched my husband die. He was bleeding through his nose, perhaps because he banged his head on the side of the ship."
Ms Douli was rescued from a lifeboat escape chute. A body believed to be that of 62-year-old Gheorgiou Douli was recovered on Sunday.
The Italian coast guard carries a body during an operation to rescue a stricken Italian ferryThe body of a man who died trying to leave the ship was found in a lifeboat escape chuteChristos Perlis - 'Our feet were burning'
Greek truck driver, Christos Perlis, described the rescue scene as chaotic.
He said the fire alarm sounded after most of the passengers had already fled outside.
The 32-year-old told the Associated Press news agency: "Our feet were burning."
He added that the situation became more panicked when the first helicopters arrived and that he had tried to help restore order. "Everyone there was trampling on each other to get on to the helicopter.
"First children, then women and then men. But the men, they started hitting us so they could get on first. They didn't take into consideration the women or the children, nothing."
Mr Perlis managed to get off the ship by jumping into a helicopter basket that was carrying a girl.
Footage released by the Italian coast guard showed the ferry shrouded in smoke
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Vassiliki Tavrizelou - 'We heard explosions'
Vassiliki Tavrizelou was rescued with her two-year-old daughter.
She told AP that the women and children were told to evacuate the ship first but that the ships could not approach the ferry because of the rain and the wind.
"We were at least four hours on the deck, in the cold and rain," she said.
Before the evacuation, Ms Tavrizelou recalled the ship alarm going off and seeing fire from her cabin.
"Then we heard explosions," she said.
Nick Channing-Williams - 'The flames were huge'
Undated family handout photo of Briton Nick Channing-Williams with his fiancee Regina TheoffiliNick Channing-Williams was on the ferry with his fiancee Regina Theoffili
Nick Channing-Williams said he was part of a group of crew members and passengers who had tried to link the ship to a tug boat.
"After the third time of the rope snapping on us, that was when we gave up," he told Sky News.
The 37-year-old said the group eventually made their way up a rope to be airlifted out. "There were moments when I was absolutely terrified,
"When the flames are licking up around the boat and there's no sign of help and they're talking about sending a boat that is four hours away, you feel somewhat helpless."
He added: "The flames were huge, all the cars were on fire."
His Greek fiancee, Regina Theoffili, was airlifted from the ship before him and the two were reunited in an Italian hospital.


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