Albania was engaged on Sunday in the operations to rescue passengers trapped on the burning Norman Atlantic ferry between Italy and Albania, local media reported.

There are some 22 Albanian citizens on the ferry. This number could be higher as a result of dual citizenship held by Albanian nationals, according to Albanian ministry of foreign affairs.

Albanian defense ministry said its navy sent a vessel to join the rescue operation shortly after the country's search and rescue centre had been notified of a fire which broke out on the car deck of Norman Atlantic ferry on Sunday morning.

All ports of Albania are on maximum alert to face any situation that may arise from the ferry anchoring in any of these ports and passengers' health emergency, Albanian minister of interior Sajmir Tahiri declared on Sunday.

The fire broke out in the car hold in Norman Atlantic ferry early on Sunday morning. Norman Atlantic leased by a Greek shipping company had left the Greek port of Patras on Saturday afternoon for Italian port of Ancona on the Adriatic. The vast majority of people on board were Greeks. Enditem

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