Italian firefighters have finally managed to extinguish all fires burning on board of ferry boat “Norman Atlantic,” which was towed to the port of Brindisi, Italy, on January 2. The ship has already been sequestered for the investigation, while on January 6, a lifeboat from the “Norman Atlantic” was found on the Albanian coast near Valona. The ferry continued to burn in port for almost two weeks until today, when firefighters were finally able to enter the hull for inspection. Earlier on Saturday, the side doors of the burned ferry were opened and special machines of smoke absorption were used in order to clear its areas. Preliminary investigation shows that the temperatures inside the vessel have finally been reduced to 21 degrees, while oxygen has significantly increased. The main door, which was already opened and through which the firefighters have promoted the absorption machines, is located at the point where the letter “N” has been assigned by the charterer, ANEK. According to the head of the Brindisi Fire Department, “under these latest developments, all processes can be accelerated and the prosecutor of Bari, along with experts, can enter ‘Norman Atlantic’ again early next week.” At the same time, Italian newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno published the testimony of an unnamed 16-year-old Afghan migrant, in which he narrates how he managed to save himself but saw many others losing their lives by the fire in the garage. “We were at least ten people,” he said to the Italian newspaper. As stated, the prosecutor of Bari who is in charge of the investigation regarding the naval tragedy — which cost the life of 11 passengers — will seek the assistance from Greek, German and Turkish authorities in order to identify the corpses found through DNA tests. The number of Greek citizens missing after the fire on “Norman Atlantic” is nine, while three of their compatriots died. On Monday, the relatives of those missing have left Italy and are now expecting news on the fate of their loved ones from the Italian and Greek authorities.
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