Lefteris Papadimas, Angelo Amante

CORFU (Greek) – Twelve people remain missing following a fire that swept through a ferry from Greece to Italy on Friday morning. Officials in Greece said Saturday that firefighters struggled to contain the flames for a second time and crews pulled the boat closer to shore.

Reuters Live footage captured plumes of smoke coming out of Euroferry Olympia, an Italian flagged ferry. Firefighters from a nearby ship spray water on the flames.

There were 241 people and 51 crew onboard when the blaze broke out. Most of the 280 rescuers were moved to Corfu by the rescue boats.

Fire broke out on the ferry, measuring 600 feet (183 m) long, as it was traveling from Igoumenitsa (a port in Western Greece), to Brindisi (an Italian port). It took nine hours.

According to the Greek coastguard, these passengers were from Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, while their families waited in agony for information.

Ilias Gerontidakis said that he was very concerned and didn’t know what would happen. He is the son of a Greek truck driver who disappeared.

The Greek Coastguard released aerial footage on Friday showing rows of trucks burned on the deck. This was after the ship’s flames burst. Grimaldi Lines owns the ship. According to the company, it was transporting 153 vehicles.

The ship was still hot and the firefighters attempted to cool it down before the emergency crews boarded the vessel to restart search operations. However, officials from the Greek coastguard or fire brigade said that the ferry was towable closer to shore to provide better protection from adverse weather.

Greek rescue crews saved two individuals, one from Bulgaria and the other from Afghanistan, late Friday night. They were not listed on the official missing persons list.

The Foreign Ministry of Bulgaria stated that 127 Bulgarians had been aboard the ship.

Many of the rescuers were brought to Corfu hotels, where they recounted their experience.

“I have been coming to and from for so many decades, but I have never experienced such an experience before,” Giorgos Paralatzas, a Greek truck driver, stated from Corfu from where he was being evacuated.

According to Reuters, a witness claimed that Corfu had been visited by consular personnel from passengers’ countries in order to coordinate safe returns with ferry companies.

According to the Greek coastguard, a prosecutor ordered an investigation into the incident. They also stated that both the captain and first mates were briefly held in order to give evidence, but they were eventually released.

According to Giannis Plakiotakis, shipping minister, authorities will be able to provide more information about the causes of the fire when the vessel is pulled safely.