Hundreds Await Nighttime Rescue After Italian Ferry Catches Fire

Athens (AFP) - Rescuers battled in the dark Sunday to save nearly 300 passengers trapped on a burning Italian ferry as coastguards reported the first death in the high-seas drama. By late evening Italian Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said the flames were under control while the Italian navy said 190 people of the 478 on board had been evacuated."It's going to be a long night," Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Twitter.Throughout the day, strong winds and choppy waters hampered efforts by teams from Greece, Italy and Albania to retrieve more passengers from the "Norman Atlantic".The blaze, which sent huge clouds of smoke into the air, was said to have started on the ferry's car deck in the early hours when the vessel was some 44 nautical miles northwest of the Greek island of Corfu.A Greek passenger who had fallen from an escape chute into the Adriatic Sea with his wife was found dead by Italian coastguards, despite repeated attempts at an air rescue amid six-metre (19.6-foot) waves.His wife was safely plucked from the water and transferred to the Italian port of Brindisi.In desperate scenes earlier in the day, terrified passengers pleaded by mobile phone live on TV to be saved from the vessel which was travelling from the Greek port of Patras to Ancona in Italy."I cannot breathe, we are all going to burn like rats -- God save us," cried one of the ship's cooks in a call to his wife, she told journalists.Alongside rescue efforts by a flotilla of ships, including nearby merchant vessels, helicopters were winching passengers two by two from the bridge to an Italian ship.As darkness fell, the Italian navy said that a tugboat, the Marietta Barretta, had finally been able to attach itself to the ferry, raising hopes it could be stabilised sufficiently to accelerate the evacuation of the 287 left on board.Greek Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis confirmed the towing operation but said he did not know the destination of the tugboat.Although Albania was "much closer", he said the final decision rested with the Italian rescuers who "know the situation better".Italian navy spokesman Riccardo Rizzotto told Rainews that the stricken vessel was 40 nautical miles from Otranto in southern Italy and 13 nautical miles from Albania's coastline. - 'Our shoes were melting' - Rizzotto said the weather was "so bad we need an extraordinary level of support".Freezing passengers huddled on the top deck and bridge of the ship told of their terror in calls to Greek television stations."We are on the top deck, we are soaked, we are cold and we are coughing from the smoke.