About 400 rescued from stricken ferry but 10 die and many more missing

Rescue teams evacuated more than 400 people from a car ferry that caught fire off Greece’s Adriatic coast in a 36-hour operation on roiling seas, but 10 people were killed in the disaster. Italian and Greek authorities continued an air search of the sea around the vessel while they sought to verify the number of passengers who had been on board, fearing that many people could be missing. Some of those rescued were not on the original ship’s manifest, and Italian authorities are looking for a definitive list of passengers to cross-check it with the names of the survivors, he said, adding that it was possible that there were illegal migrants aboard.

Our feet were burning and from the feet up we were soaked. Everyone there was trampling on each other to get onto the helicopter.

Greek truck driver Christos Perlis, who rescued from the ferry

The Italian government said 427 people were rescued, including 56 crew, but the original ship’s manifest listed 478 passengers and crew. Italy has opened a criminal investigation into the disaster. It will focus on how the fire started and how it was able to spread.

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