According to new reports, two Albanian seamen have been killed on a tugboat while towing the fire-stricken Norman Atlantic ferry.
Both men died after being hit by a connecting cable between the vessels on December 30, Albanian officials say.
At least 11 others were killed and more than 400 were rescued, after fire broke out on the ferry in stormy seas.
It is unclear how many passengers are still missing. Rescue helicopters have been diverted after another ship sent a distress signal nearby.
Italian authorities said they were continuing to search the ferry Norman Atlantic. An 11th body was found on December 30.
They have been unable to verify the precise number of people originally on board.
The operator said 478 people had been on the ferry when it left the Greek port of Patras for Ancona in Italy, but Italy’s final tally following the rescue comes to only 437, including those who died.
Prosecutor Giuseppe Volpe told reporters in the Italian port of Bari that it was likely that other victims would be found on the wrecked ship because a number of those rescued had not been on the passenger list.
Italian Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said on December 29 that a definitive figure could not be given because of errors on the passenger list, no-shows at boarding or people getting off on a stopover at the Greek port city of Igoumenitsa.
An Albanian port authority official in Vlore told Reuters news agency that the two seamen had been hit by the broken cable.
“One man died on the spot when one cable broke after it got stuck in the propeller,” the official said.
“The other died on board a few minutes ago when being assisted by a helicopter medical team.”
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Italian ferry Norman Atlantic carrying 478 people caught fire north-west of Corfu.
Ships and helicopters are now taking part in a major rescue operation.
One person has died after jumping from the ship and another has been confirmed injured, officials say.
A total of 172 people have been rescued but more than 300 remain on the Norman Atlantic which was travelling from Patras in Greece to Ancona in Italy.
Choppy seas and strong winds are hampering the night-time rescue.
Most of those on board were Greek. Others came from Italy, Turkey, Albania, Germany and many other countries, officials said.
Italian media say the fire broke out on the ferry’s car deck before spreading.
Photo AP/SKAI TV
Rescued passengers include a seven-month pregnant woman and her two children, who are all being treated for hypothermia, according to Italian media reports.
Two Italian and two Greek helicopters are taking turns to winch passengers from the ship, two at a time, Greek officials say.
Nearby merchant vessels aligned themselves in formation to protect the ship from waves and facilitate the rescue.
Italian and Albanian teams are also taking part in the rescue operation – some 19 nautical miles from the Albanian coast.
One of the passengers told Greek TV station Mega: “On the lower deck, where the lifeboats are, our shoes were starting to melt from the heat.”
Another passenger told the same station that smoke was engulfing the ship.
The chief executive of the Visentini group that owns the vessel, Carlo Visentini, said the ferry had passed a recent technical inspection despite a “slight malfunction” in one of the fire doors, Italy’s Ansa news agency reports.
“The tests confirmed that the boat was in full working order,” he said, adding that the fire door had been repaired “to the satisfaction of the inspectors”.
Ferries are an important mode of transport between Greece’s hundreds of islands as well as neighboring countries.
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