Hundreds rescued from burning Greek ferry

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi says that the evacuation of the Greek ferry that caught fire off Albania has been completed and that only the vessel's captain and four Italian sailors remain on board to assist in the operation.

The latest numbers indicate 414 people have been rescued from the ferry. Ten people died in the incident. They include a Greek man who died after become trapped in a lifeboard chute, and four others whose bodies were recovered Monday. Their identities or the circumstances of their deaths were not immediately known.

Greek Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis told reports the bad weather, with winds of up to 55 mph earlier, made the operation one of the most complex Greek authorities had been involved in and vowed that no one would be left behind.

Survivors were also taken to southern Italian hospitals in smaller numbers in the hours immediately after the rescue operation got underway. Several were treated for hypothermia, some for mild carbon monoxide poisoning and one woman suffered a fractured pelvis, officials said.

A local convent was housing survivors who were released from the hospital.

"Notwithstanding the weather and the darkness, which is another factor, we persisted throughout the entire night," Italian coast guard Admiral Giovanni Pettorino told Sky TG24.

Those remaining on board were given thermal blankets and found places to wait protected from the elements "even if the conditions remain very difficult," Pettorino said.

Italian navy Capt. Riccardo Rizzotto said the ultimate destination of the stricken ferry was unclear. Some Italian officials said it would likely be towed to an Italian port, even though it was currently closer to Albania.

"The priority now is to rescue the crew and passengers as quickly as possible," Rizzotto said.

Wire services