Caracas, Dec 27 - Ten sailors on a Greek freighter were killed in a fire on board a Greek freighter off the coast of Venezuela, military officials said Saturday.

Another five sailors were injured in the fire, according to the commander of the Venezuelan Navy, Carlos Aniasi, who had telephoned with the ship's captain.

The Greek ministry for ship transport in Piraeus, Greece, said the freighter, the Aegean Wind, was about 90 sea miles off the coast of the South American country when the fire broke out on Christmas Eve, Thursday.

On board were 24 sailors from Greece and the Philippines. Rescue ships hurried to the accident site. The freighter was loaded with 38,000 tonnes of iron ore from Brazil, and was headed for Houston, Texas. (dpa)