Ferry

A charred corpse was found in the car deck of the Norman Atlantic ferry that was sailing west o fthe Ionian island of Corfu when a fire broke out. The body has been taken to Bari where coroners are conducting an autopsy. A DNA test is required to discover the identity of the corpse. This is the first body found on board following the ship being towed to Italy.

Italian media reported on Tuesday the discovery of a charred body in the car port of the Norman Atlantic ferry, which went up in flames on December 28 while traveling from Greece to Italy.

The federation of Greek truckers (OFAE) has complained that ferries serving Adriatic Sea routes frequently carry toxic chemicals illegally.

Gale-force winds and choppy seas prompted port authorities on Tuesday to issue a sailing ban at the three ports serving Athens, in Piraeus, Lavrio and Rafina.

Ferries will not be sailing to the islands of the Aegean on Tuesday and passengers must check with their ferry operators about ticket returns.

Authorities at the Italian port of Brindisi on Monday fully extinguished the fire that had been burning on board the Norman Atlantic ferry for more than two weeks, raising hopes that the stalled investigation into the ferry disaster will intensify.

BRINDISI, Italy — Firefighters boarded the charred Norman Atlantic ferry in the Italian port of Brindisi on Friday to put out residual fires and allow a search for possible dead.

Ferries resumed normal service across Greece on Friday after being restricted to port on Thursday due to poor weather conditions.

The only exception is the Rio-Antirio ferry service, which remained closed on Friday.

There was a slight improvement in the weather in some parts of the country but temperatures were expected to remain low in central, western and northern Greece.

Three Greeks were killed in the Norman Atlantic ferry disaster and another nine are missing, according to the latest figures provided by Greek authorities.

Bad weather in the Adriatic Sea is thwarting efforts to tow a fire-ravaged ferry to Italy, so authorities can search it for more possible dead and investigate the cause of the blaze that killed at least 11 people.

Ten passengers dead, dozen unaccounted for and no-one able to say with any certainty how many people were on board the Norman Atlantic when it burst into flames.
      
A Greek ferry tragedy in the Adriatic appeared to be turning into a murder mystery on Tuesday as a fiasco over the accuracy of the passenger list added to questions over safety systems aboard.