Athens – Major disaster was averted after hundreds of people were rescued from a ferry that caught fire between Greece and Italy in the early hours of Friday, the Greek coastguard said.

A video uploaded on Greek news website Proto Thema showed the 183-metre Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia engulfed in flames and huge plumes of smoke.

The coastguard said 239 passengers and 51 crew members were on board and most of them had boarded rescue vessels transferring them to the port of the island of Corfu, authorities said.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or severe injuries. One person with breathing problems had been taken to the hospital, according to the Athens News Agency.

The ferry had sailed from Igoumenitsa, the largest port in western Greece, and was headed to the Italian port of Brindisi, about nine hours away.

The fire, the cause of which was not immediately known, broke out near the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea.

The ferry is part of the fleet of group Grimaldi Lines and has a capacity of up to 560 passengers, according to the company's website.

At least three coastguard vessels and one Italian financial police vessel were involved in the rescue operation.
-Reuters