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In the afternoon of 31 December, the authorities confirmed that three Greeks had lost their lives in the tragedy on the Norman Atlantic. The third victim was Nikolaos Paraschis. So far a total of 11 have been confirmed dead. However, the number of victims is expected to be higher, as the presence of stowaways on board has already been confirmed, and the passenger list is not considered reliable.

Two Greek citizens, Georgios Doulis and Konstantinos Koufopoulos, were proven dead yesterday.

After weather has settled in the Adriatic Sea, where gale-force winds are still blasting, the Italian authorities will allow the ship to be taken in tow.

The captain of the Norman Atlantic: we put off sounding the alarm to avert panic on board

The testimony of the captain of the burnt ferry, Argilio Giacomazzi, which was partially published by Italian media, raises new questions. While testifying in Bari for five and a half hours, the captain maintained that proper procedure was followed at all times.

“First we went ahead with an internal alarm among the crew, because due to the size of the fire, we did not want to cause a panic among the passengers. Later, in line with safety protocols, we sounded the alarm,” Giacomazzi said, answering the charges of rescued passengers that the crew had been too late warning them.

All 22 crew members, who were shipped to Brindisi by the Italian navy ship San Giorgio, are also testifying before the authorities in Bari.

The Norman Atlantic is expected to be towed to an Italian port, most likely Brindisi. According to a crew member from a tug, located in the region, the burnt ferry has already been tied up to the tug, a team of experts has boarded it, and the towing operation will be green-lighted at any moment. A total of 5 tugs are in the area. But the Italian authorities have yet to officially announce where the ferry will be docked.

Today Albania authorized the Norman Atlantic to leave Albanian territorial waters, official Albanian sources said. "At the request of the authorities in Barry, the Albanian judiciary has decided to OK the towing of the ferry to Italy," said Albi Serani, a representative of the Albanian Prosecution, to Agence France-Presse. He added that the operation would start as soon as the weather permits.

"The towing of the ferry, which sailed under Italian flag and is located in Albanian waters, to Italy had to be cleared by the Albanian judicial authorities," explained Serani.

Apart from the 11 casualties among the passengers, two Albanian sailors lost their lives as well. They were attempting to secure the ferry to a tugboat when the cable apparently snapped and fatally injured them. Bari’s Attorney Giuseppe Volpe, who is in charge of the investigation, warned that other dead people on board the Norman Atlantic’s wreck should be expected.