ATHENS – An operation to remove 60 burnt vehicles, including trucks, from the fourth garage of the fire-ravaged “Euroferry Olympia” passenger-car ferry was underway on Tuesday. The ferry is still docked at the port of Astakos in Etoloakarnania.

While the fire that started on board the vessel on February 18 has finally been extinguished, it remains filled with hazardous smoke, while means that those working inside need gas masks and oxygen tanks.

The search for two persons that are still missing since the fire started is also continuing. A total of nine people are confirmed to have died in the fire, while 281 were rescued.

According to sources, the next stage will be the removal of the vehicles in the second garage, which is expected to last two days, followed by the third garage.

Once this is done, the roughly 700 tonnes of fuel in its tanks will be removed.

All the trucks and other vehicles that are removed will be transported to a special waste packaging facility and carefully inspected by fire brigade inspectors and an expert appointed by the Corfu and Messolonghi prosecutor.

No cause has yet been identified for the fire, which started in the early hours of February 18 on the third deck of the ship as it was sailing past the island of Ereikousa, on its way to Brindisi.