BBC Online :
All remaining passengers have been taken off the ferry Norman Atlantic, which caught fire off the island of Corfu, Italian officials say.
Five people died in the incident. One man was killed when trying to escape the ship, and a further four bodies have been recovered from the sea.
More than 400 people were rescued, in a long and complex operation amid gale-force winds and thick smoke.
The Italian navy said only the captain and four officials were on the ship.
It is still unclear what caused the fire to break out on Sunday on the car deck of the ferry, which was carrying 478 people from the Greek city of Patras to Ancona in Italy.
Map showing the route of the ship Norman Atlantic travelling from Greece to Italy
Italian prosecutors announced on Monday that they had opened a criminal investigation into the fire and would look into whether negligence had played a role.
Coast Guard spokesman Nikos Lagadianos said four bodies were found on Monday. The body of a 62-year-old Greek man had already been recovered along with his injured wife after they fell into the water as they tried to reach a lifeboat.
Teodora Douli, 56, told Ansa news agency that her husband may have hit his head as he fell. “I tried to save him but I couldn’t,” she said.
The first rescue ship carrying 49 people evacuated from the ferry arrived at the Italian port of Bari early on Monday morning.
Helicopters crews fitted with night vision equipment worked through the night to rescue passengers despite difficult conditions. One hundred people were taken off the ferry during the night, the Italian coast guard said.
Italian Air Force helicopter pilot, Maj Antonio Laneve told Italian state TV that “acrid smoke” had filled his helicopter cabin, making the rescue even more challenging.
Most of the rescued passengers were transferred to nearby ships, although some have been taken directly to hospital.
A Turkish man who had been on board the Norman Atlantic told local reporters that “I saw four people dead, with my own eyes”.
Three children and a pregnant woman were among those being treated in hospital for hypothermia, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Passengers described panicking as the heat on the ferry rose, then freezing as they stood on decks awaiting rescue.
The wife of one of the cooks told journalists she had had a call from her husband saying: “I cannot breathe, we are all going to burn like rats – God save us.”
All remaining passengers have been taken off the ferry Norman Atlantic, which caught fire off the island of Corfu, Italian officials say.
Five people died in the incident. One man was killed when trying to escape the ship, and a further four bodies have been recovered from the sea.
More than 400 people were rescued, in a long and complex operation amid gale-force winds and thick smoke.
The Italian navy said only the captain and four officials were on the ship.
It is still unclear what caused the fire to break out on Sunday on the car deck of the ferry, which was carrying 478 people from the Greek city of Patras to Ancona in Italy.
Map showing the route of the ship Norman Atlantic travelling from Greece to Italy
Italian prosecutors announced on Monday that they had opened a criminal investigation into the fire and would look into whether negligence had played a role.
Coast Guard spokesman Nikos Lagadianos said four bodies were found on Monday. The body of a 62-year-old Greek man had already been recovered along with his injured wife after they fell into the water as they tried to reach a lifeboat.
Teodora Douli, 56, told Ansa news agency that her husband may have hit his head as he fell. “I tried to save him but I couldn’t,” she said.
The first rescue ship carrying 49 people evacuated from the ferry arrived at the Italian port of Bari early on Monday morning.
Helicopters crews fitted with night vision equipment worked through the night to rescue passengers despite difficult conditions. One hundred people were taken off the ferry during the night, the Italian coast guard said.
Italian Air Force helicopter pilot, Maj Antonio Laneve told Italian state TV that “acrid smoke” had filled his helicopter cabin, making the rescue even more challenging.
Most of the rescued passengers were transferred to nearby ships, although some have been taken directly to hospital.
A Turkish man who had been on board the Norman Atlantic told local reporters that “I saw four people dead, with my own eyes”.
Three children and a pregnant woman were among those being treated in hospital for hypothermia, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Passengers described panicking as the heat on the ferry rose, then freezing as they stood on decks awaiting rescue.
The wife of one of the cooks told journalists she had had a call from her husband saying: “I cannot breathe, we are all going to burn like rats – God save us.”
