At least 10 died in Italy's ferry blaze, as search efforts continue

The search for survivors of the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic ferry continued in the Adriatic on Tuesday, as confusion over the number of missing people prevailed.

A total of 427 people were rescued in the operation, and the official number of the victims of the blaze was put to 10 by Italian authorities.

Italy's navy confirmed an air search of the waters in the area of the incident would continue, and the two major military vessels involved, San Giorgio and Durand de la Penne, would sail back to the southern port of Brindisi only when the mission has been completed.

The San Giorgio ship was carrying at least 180 rescued people. Some 39 others were also due to arrive at the port of Manfredonia in the region of Puglia on Tuesday morning, but their return was delayed by very bad sea conditions, Italy's coast guard said.

One man fell in the icy waters and died while trying to escape the burning ship, and nine bodies were recovered by rescuers during the 36-hour-long operation.

Two lorry drivers from Naples would be among the victims, and their bodies were recognized by relatives, according to local media.

However, Italian Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi warned Italy' s government had no certainty over the real number of missing people, since significant discrepancies had been found in the ferry's manifest.

"We cannot say how many people may be missing," Lupi said at the end of the rescue operation.

The Norman Atlantic's manifest contained 478 between passengers and crew. Considering those who were saved, some 41 people might still be unaccounted for.

Yet, at least 80 of those rescued were not included in the manifest, according to Italian coast guard admiral Giovanni Pettorino.

Both Italian and Greek authorities were now trying to verify the correspondence of the lists to figure out how many people had really been on board and who they were.

The ferry had also made a stopover at the Greek port of Igoumenitsa during its journey, and some passengers might have got off before the fire broke out, Italian officials suggested.

The Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic ferry, chartered by Greek shipping firm ANEK Lines, was sailing from western Greece to Italy when a fire started in one of the garages on early Sunday morning.

Italy, Greece, and Albania joined their efforts in order to evacuate all passengers, with Italy taking the lead of the rescue operation and dispatching military helicopters and vessels in the area.

The mission was hampered by rough seas and gale-force winds and passengers described a dramatic scene of people being trapped on the upper deck of the ferry, waiting to be saved, with fire burning and black smoke rising from below, and cold rain soaking them from above.

Several rescued people were hospitalized and treated for hypothermia in southern Italy, but none was reported in life threatening conditions despite the shock.

A deadly incident also occurred on Tuesday morning during the operation to tug the Norman Atlantic to the port of Vlora in Albania. Two Albanian sailors of the tugboat died while trying to attach the ferry, after being reportedly hit by a rope.

Meanwhile, the circumstances of the blaze on board of the ferry were still unclear and Italian prosecutors opened three separate probes to establish the cause of the fire.

The captain of the ship, Argilio Giacomazzi, and Italian owner Carlo Visentini were investigated for the crimes of shipwreck, multiple manslaughter and negligent injury. Enditem