WATCH: Greek ship BURSTS into flames while at sea - with 1,000 people onboard
A VIRAL VIDEO has captured the terrifying moment a Greek ferry ship carrying hundreds of tourists burst into flames, forcing passengers to evacuate in the middle of the night.
Greece ferry fire: Passengers evacuate as fire engulfs ship
The viral video captured the moment the huge tourist boat burst into flames in Greece.
The Greek ferry, which was carrying more than 1,000 people at the time, was travelling from a port near Athens to Crete when the incident occurred.
Ship Eleftherios Venizelos then set alight after a car parking compartment caught on fire, although what exactly caused it is being investigated.
It was then forced to return to the port of Piraeus in Athens before the blaze was tackled.
Passengers onboard were then evacuated when it made it back to the island.
Fire crews could be seen spraying water jets as the huge flames lit up the night.
Thankfully the fire was safely put out by the emergency services.
All 876 people onboard disembarked successfully and no passengers were reported to be injured following the blaze.
The 141 crew onboard were also able to get off the ship unharmed.
The ship is on fire and it is being evacuated. They are now returning back to port with several ships heading for emergency
One Twitter user posted an image of passengers wearing orange life jackets before evacuation.
He wrote: "A friend of mine travelling from Athens Piraeus to Chania Crete with ANEK lines sent me this photo.
"The ship is on fire and it is being evacuated. They are now returning back to port with several ships heading for emergency."
Coast guard spokesman Nikos Lagdianos confirmed to Reuters: “It was a huge operation and everything went to plan.”
The ferry route is often used to travel between the islands by both locals and tourists.
The Greek islands are popular with British holidaymakers, with three million visits to the country every year.
Greece has been badly affected in recent months by forest fires which swept the region.
A state of emergency was declared at the time and flights were affected.
The country is also still recovering from the economic crisis, with limited cash being able to be withdrawn on a daily basis from the banks.