Around 100 Romanians stranded on ferry in Greece, disembarked, waiting to be evacuated

Around 100 Romanians stranded on ferry in Greece, disembarked, waiting to be evacuated

Around 100 Romanians stranded on a ferry in Greece due to floods have disembarked and are to be evacuated, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) said Thursday.

According to the source, the Romanian Embassy in Athens has also maintained contact with representatives of a group of Romanian citizens stuck on a ferry on the Skiathos - Volos route, following the decision of the local Greek authorities to postpone the disembarkation of the people on the ferry until the weather conditions in the disembarkation area improve.

After their disembarkation, the port captain of Agios Konstantinos informed them, at the request of the embassy, about the evacuation options.

Ministry representatives say that on Thursday there were telephone requests for consular assistance registered with the Romanian Embassy in Athens and the Consulate General in Thessaloniki. Romanians in the areas affected by the extreme weather events said they could not continue their journey.

MAE mentions that the representatives of the two missions have recommended to the Romanian citizens concerned to respect the instructions of the local authorities, not to leave their safe locations and to immediately report (to the single number 112 and to the two Romanian missions) the development of the situation locally, as well as additional requests for support. At the same time, the Romanian citizens were informed that the authorities will act according to specific plans for such emergencies, depending on the development of weather conditions.

According to the Romanian Ministry, the Romanian Embassy in Athens and the Consulate General of Romania in Thessaloniki are permanently monitoring the situation, are in direct contact with the relevant Greek authorities (Civil Protection, Police) and with the Romanian citizens in the affected areas and are providing the necessary assistance, within the limits of their remit.

In respect with the situation in the Republic of Bulgaria, MAE informs that the Romanian Embassy in Sofia has received a request for assistance from a Romanian family of citizens staying in a tourist complex in the Tsarevo area, whose vehicle was damaged by floods. The persons in question have sufficient means of subsistence and will travel to Romania after the damage has been repaired or after an alternative means of transporting the vehicle home has been found.

MAE brings to mind that Romanian citizens can request consular assistance at the telephone numbers of the Romanian Embassy in Athens: +30 210 6728875; +30 210 6728879 and the Romanian Embassy in Sofia: +359 2 9733510, calls being redirected to the Contact and Support Centre for Romanian Citizens Abroad (CCSCRS) and answered by Call Centre operators on a permanent basis. Also, Romanian citizens facing a difficult, special, emergency situation have at their disposal the emergency telephone numbers of the diplomatic missions: Embassy of Romania in Athens : +30 6978996222 and Embassy of Romania in Sofia : +359 879 440 758.