Ferry survivors tell of terror

ATHENS, Greece (Reuters) -- Survivors from a Greek ferry that sank after hitting rocks have described a night of terror in the storm-tossed waters of the Aegean Sea.

"I heard the cries of a baby in the water. I managed to save it but his mother drowned," passenger George Kioulafis said .

"The real heroes were the local fishermen who rushed to help us, we owe them a big thank you. The waves would have thrown us against the rocks had it not been for the local fishermen," he said.

Effi Hiou, interviewed on private Flash radio, said she was swimming for more than an hour before being rescued. She told of scrambling from her bed to get to the deck and being thrown off the ship by its severe tilt.

"The ship's left side was touching the sea and it turned into a slide. One after the other, we fell into the sea.

"I saw a flare after I fell into the sea and a fishing boat from Paros in the distance. But one of the ship's lifeboats had been lowered. I called out to people in boats, 'Take us as well, help us'.

"People, young and old, were calling out. I was swimming. But I was wearing shoes and pyjamas. I started to get cold, but, thankfully, the water was warm.

"I had been swimming for one-and-a-quarter hours when I found a plank of wood. I don't know where it came from. A suitcase hit me on the head.

"Big waves were coming. We kept swallowing water and we said this will be our tomb. We carried on calling out for help to the fishing boat.

"The fishing boat approached. Just before midnight it came to us. It was full. The people were piled on like sheep. They were all soaked. Three coast guard boys on the boat threw me a rope and pulled me in. I was shivering, along with everyone else."

Passengers reported panic as the ship began listing to the right after hitting the rocks.

"The ship fell apart as it sank. There were people hanging from the railings. Children were crying and old people were screaming," survivor Zoe Kolida said. "I jumped in and looked back ... and the ship was gone."

Another survivor, engineer Stamatis Delavinias, said the collision was very strong. "I thought of the Titanic. The boat sank in about half an hour. There were old women and others who were afraid to jump in the sea."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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