Scores still stranded on blaze-hit Italian ferry, 5 dead

ATHENS: Five people have died and 59 are still awaiting rescue after a blaze on an Italian ferry off the island of Corfu, Greek officials say.One man is known to have died trying to escape the ship, and a further four bodies have been recovered from the sea. Helicopter crews have been winching people to safety despite gale-force winds and thick smoke. The Italian navy said that 419 of the 478 people on board had been evacuated. It is still unclear what caused the fire to break out on a car deck on Sunday. Overall, 391 people have been rescued from the ferry that was carrying 478 passengers and crew, Varvitsiotis said.Prosecutors in the Italian port of Bari on Monday opened a criminal investigation into how the Norman Atlantic caught fire at sea and whether negligence contributed to the disaster, according to a news agency.