MIRACULOUS

Survivor of Fiery Ferry Inferno: ‘Tell Me I’m Alive’

A passenger who hid in the stern of a burning ferry on the Adriatic Sea was found alive 24 hours after the vessel burst into flames. Eleven others remain missing.

A 21-year-old Belarusian truck driver who had been sleeping in his semi cab when a fire broke out aboard a ferry from Greece to Italy was found alive Sunday morning, nearly 24 hours after the blaze. More than 270 people were pulled from the burning Euroferry Olympia Sunday morning, but 11 are missing, feared burned alive in the fiery accident. Authorities have not determined what started the blaze, which broke out in the car deck early Saturday morning. When the driver was discovered, he told authorities, “Tell me I’m alive.” He said he heard other screams from the car deck. Firefighters were still working Sunday to keep flammable material from igniting. Among the survivors was an Afghan national who was not registered as a passenger, sparking fears the death toll could be higher if people were being smuggled to Italy.