UPDATE 2 - Turkish national missing after fire erupts on ferry heading from Greece to Italy

UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM TURKISH DIPLOMAT

By Ayhan Mehmet and Derya Ozcan

CORFU, Greece (AA) - A Turkish national is missing after a fire broke out on a ferry heading from Greece to Italy early Friday.

“We are in contact with the Greek Coast Guard, the hospital, and the Greek police to determine his fate. I hope he is well," said Mustafa Somuncu, Turkiye's consul general in Athens, on Saturday.

Temporary passports will be issued to Turkish nationals on the ferry whose passports are missing, and they will be taken to Istanbul, Somuncu added.

Diplomat Erdem Kutlu from the Turkish Consulate General in Athens said 26 Turkish citizens, including 23 truck drivers, were rescued from the ferry and placed in hotels on the island of Corfu.

Some of the passengers are getting medical treatment, he said

Later on Saturday, Somuncu told Anadolu Agency that 23 Turkish nationals were headed from Corfu back home to Istanbul, Turkiye by highway.

On Friday the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia set off from Igoumenitsa, western Greece to the Italian port of Brindisi, a trip of some nine hours.

The fire, whose cause is so far unknown, erupted near the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea.

A total of 278 people were identified and they were transported to Corfu. At least 12 people, including three Greek citizens, were recorded as missing, according to the latest Greek Coast Guard count.

* Written and with contributions by Ahmet Gencturk in Ankara