THIS is the jaw-dropping moment a huge inferno rips through a ferry off the coast of a British holiday hotspot sparking a frantic evacuation.
Shocking footage showed towering plumes of smoke billowing from the flaming vessel north of Mykonos, Greece.
Emergency services safely rescued 29 people from the burning 530ft truck and passenger ship, operated by Blue Star Ferries.
The raging blaze was tackled in an “extensive firefighting operation”, according to the Hellenic Coastguard.
Though the cause of the inferno which broke out on Friday is currently unclear.
In the extraordinary footage, a massive fireball can be seen tearing through the stationary Blue Carrier 2 vessel.
Other clips show the aftermath of the horror, with firefighting teams and smaller vessels working to beat the flames and rescue those on board.
The ship was later abandoned once the 28 crew members and one passenger, a truck driver, were saved.
At least five coast guard vessels and two firefighting speedboats assisted the recovery operation.
Authorities say the fire on board the ship has now eased.
Salvage crews are now focusing on stabilising the inferno so they can access the vessel and launch a probe into the ordeal.
Firefighting teams were still battling the flames on Saturday.
It comes after a spate of wildfires in Greece this summer which swallowed hectares of land and left towns completely scorched.
And in 2024, crew on a high-end yacht hired out by holidaymakers appeared in court over fireworks they allegedly lit on board that sparked a forest fire.
The raging wildfire is thought to have ravaged the pine forest in the port city of Piraeus on Hydra island, not far from the Greek capital Athens.
It is believed that cruise workers lit fireworks to entertain the holidaymakers, before igniting the fire in Hydra’s only pine forest.
The damage demanded the attention of several firefighters, according to climate minister Vassilis Kikilias who stressed that it took six planes to put it out.
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