A marine tracking map showed a ferry changing its trajectory on Friday (February 18) after a fire broke out with 288 people on board.
The Greek coast guard said 237 passengers and 51 crew members were on board the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia and most of them had boarded rescue vessels. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries, authorities said.
The evacuated passengers and crew were taken to the port of Corfu, authorities said.
The fire, the cause of which was not immediately known, broke out near the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea.
The Italian-flagged ferry had sailed from Igoumenitsa, the largest port in western Greece, and was headed to the Italian port of Brindisi, about nine hours away.
