UPDATE 3:
Ten people have been confirmed dead as a result of the fire that swept the Italian ropax ferry Norman Atlantic in the Adriatic, but the actual figure could be higher as the ship’s manifest does not seem to have been accurate, media reports say.
“A 33-hour-long operation to save almost 500 passengers and crew from the stricken Norman Atlantic ferry wrapped up on Monday night amid fears that the final death toll could prove much higher than the ten fatalities confirmed by the Italian and Greek coastguards,” the Guardian newspaper in London reported on its website.
“Italy’s defence minister, Roberta Pinotti, said 427 people had been rescued from the ship, which caught fire early on Sunday. The manifest contained 478 names, apparently leaving 43 unaccounted for.”
“Maurizio Lupi, the Italian transport minister, said several of the people who were saved did not figure on the list, suggesting even more could have died. Prosecutors who opened two inquiries into the disaster in the ports of Brindisi and Bari were reportedly putting the number of missing at 38,” the Guardian said.
UPDATE 2:
The death toll in the fire on Norman Atlantic has risen to seven. All persons have now been rescueed from the ship, the BBC reports.
UPDATE 1:
The number of deaths on the Norman Atlantic ferry that caught fire in the Adriatic early on Sunday morning has risen to five from one, media reports say.
“Five people were confirmed to have died in car ferry that caught fire off the coast of Greece and rescue teams were working to save another 22 still stranded on board more than 24 hours after the blaze started,” the Reuters news agency reports.
The ship flies the Italian flag and it is on charter to ANEK Lines, a Greek ferry company.
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One person has died on Norman Atlantic, the ropax ferry that caught fire last night on a voyage from Italy to Greece, media reports say.
Meanwhile, the ship had six defects at a port state control inspection that took place on 19 December. These included a malfunctioning fire door, missing emergency lighting batteries, a water tight door that was not as required and two defects with regards of life saving information, the Paris MOU says on its website (parismou.org).
The Paris MOU is the European body that carries out port state control to inspect vessels’ safety equipment and other safety related matters.
Normamn Arlantic flies the Italian flag and is managed by Visemar di navigazione, accroding to imnformation on the Paris MOU website. The ship has been chartered to ANEK Lines, a major listed Greek ferry company.
