ATHENS (Reuters). Hundreds of people were rescued by a ferry that set fire to between Greece and Italy at the beginning of Friday. The Greek coastguard stated that the rescue efforts included rescuing hundreds of passengers.

Proto Thema, a Greek news site, uploaded a video showing the ferry’s engulfment in flames. Speakers were blasting “May Day”.

According to authorities, 239 passengers were aboard the Euroferry Olympia with 51 crew members. Most of them boarded rescue boats that transferred them to Corfu.

The incident did not result in any serious injury or deaths. The Athens News Agency reported that one patient with breathing problems was admitted to hospital.

The ferry had set sail from Igoumenitsa (the largest port in western Greece) and was heading to Brindisi (about nine hours away).

A fire broke out on the Ionian Sea near Corfu.

We were awakened at 4:20 AM. “We had already left the ship within an hour… The crew saved us quickly,” one of our passengers said to Skai TV via phone.

According to Grimaldi Lines, this ferry forms part of their fleet and can hold up to 560 passengers.

Paul Kyprianou of Grimaldi Lines stated to Reuters that while the cause of fire is still being investigated, there are indications that it began from the ship’s hold.

He said, “Damage was severe because the crew could not extinguish fire.”

The rescue operation involved at least three Italian financial police vessels as well as one coastguard vessel.

Refinitiv Eikon’s ship tracking data showed that the Euroferry Olympia made a U-turn to the northwest along the North Corfu channel, according to Refinitiv Eikon.

In 2014 10 people died after a ferry car carrying 466 passengers caught on fire during a crossing from Greece to Italy.