Desperate passengers have used mobile telephones to plead to be saved from a burning ferry off the Greek island of Corfu as rescuers battled gale-force winter winds to get to them.

A difficult and dramatic operation was under way to rescue 478 people from the ferry the Norman Atlantic, Greek officials said.

Freezing passengers huddled on the top deck of the ship coughing from the smoke of the blaze as they told of their terror in calls to Greek television stations.

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Vessels close to the stricken ANEK Lines vessel, which caught fire 33 nautical miles off the small Greek island of Othonoi, rushed to give assistance after picking up its distress signal, the Greek coast guard said.

With high winds gusting up to 100km/h and packing torrential rain and sleet, Greek authorities described efforts to rescue the passengers “as particularly difficult and complicated”.

The blaze on board is said to have broken out in the ferry’s car deck. Greek television network Mega said there were also tankers holding olive oil on the deck.

“Our shoes were melting while we were in the reception area,” one passenger told the station.

It was unclear if there had been casualties or if there were any passengers in the water.

The Greek maritime ministry said 268 of the passengers were Greek, with the crew made up of 22 Italians and 34 Greeks.

About 55 passengers were transferred to one Greek ship, while 150 others in a lifeboat were reportedly picked up by another merchant vessel, according to the Italian ANSA news agency.

Seven vessels were near to the ferry to take passengers on board, with Greek and Italian firefighting ships on their way to the scene, which is in the middle of a busy shipping lane. At least three Italian and Greek helicopters circled overhead.

The Norman Atlantic had left the Greek port of Patras at 5.30am (local time) and had been heading to the Italian port of Ancona when the fire took hold.

The car deck of the Italian-flagged ship was believed to have been holding 195 vehicles when the fire broke out.

The Italian navy said on Twitter it was sending three helicopters to the scene from its bases in Grottaglie and Catania in Sicily. Four coast guard patrol boats were also on their way.