Hundreds trapped as ferry burns in heavy seas off Greece

ROME, Dec 28 (agencies): Hundreds of passengers were trapped on a burning car ferry off Greece on Sunday, pleading to be rescued by a flotilla of nearby ships that battled storm conditions in open water to try to reach them.
The Greek coastguard said 150 people had been saved from the Italian-registered Norman Atlantic, which was carrying almost 500 passengers and crew when it sent a distress signal after fire broke out on its lower deck.
As high winds and rough seas impeded efforts by other ships to rescue those still on board, it was unclear whether there had been casualties or if any passengers were in the water.
"The ship is still on fire, the floor is burning," passenger George Styliaras told Greek TV by telephone, adding that smoke was making it difficult to breathe. "We don't know how long we can hold on."
Cold winter temperatures would make survival in the sea difficult unless rescue came quickly.
Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said the combination of very bad weather, with winds of up to 55 miles (88 kilometres) per hour and the fire, made the operation extremely complicated.
Three seamen were missing, feared drowned after a Turkish-registered merchant ship sank off Italy Sunday following a collision with another vessel in rough seas, coastguards said.
The three were amongst 11 men who were aboard the Turkish vessel and another, Belize-registered, ship when they collided in storm conditions about a mile and a half (two kilometres) off the port of Ravenna on Italy's Adriatic coast.
The accident occurred as Italy was attempting to coordinate the evacuation of hundreds of passengers and crew from a stricken ferry off the Greek island of Corfu, in the south of the Adriatic. The ferry had been destined for the Italian port of Ancona when a fire broke out on board.
Meanwhile:  Desperate passengers pleaded via mobile phone to be saved from a burning ferry off the Greek island of Corfu on Sunday as rescuers battled gale-force winds to get to them.
But with gusts of up to 100 kilometres (60 miles) per hour making rescue difficult and dangerous, the crew has so far only managed to get 150 of the 478 people off the stricken "Norman Atlantic", Greek officials said.
Seas were so violent that only 35 of those have so far been lifted from a lifeboat to a tanker that came to their aid, Greek Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said hours into the emergency.
He said seven merchant vessels have encircled the ferry in an attempt to shelter it from fierce Force 10 winds, as Greek and Italian firefighting vessels raced from their coasts.