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Three truck drivers from Naples
were likely the Italian victims of the fire aboard the ferry
Norman Atlantic, which took 10 lives and forced the evacuation
of 427 people, according to sources close to the investigation.
The bodies were said to be on the ship San Giorgio.
Earlier, the Coast Guard said that three Italians were among the
victims of the fiery ferry disaster.
The Coast Guard sent the information in a post on its
Twitter feed.
Relatives and colleagues of the three men were waiting in
Bari for the ship to arrive and sources said they had made an
initial photo identification.
The names of the three Neapolitan drivers who appeared to
be among the missing in the diaster were Carmine Balsano,
Giovanni Rinaldi, and Michele Riccardo.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in Bari said they were seizing
private phones from the ferry Norman Atlantic as part of their
probe into the disaster.
That includes investigating allegations of homicide and
causing a shipwreck against the captain and owner of the
multi-deck car ferry that caught fire early Sunday.
Intelligence sources said Tuesday that the damaged ferry
was being towed towards Albania.
Although Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Monday all were
evacuated from the car ferry, Greek media reported some 38
people were still missing.
Italian authorities say it is difficult to pin down precise
numbers because not everyone who reserved a place on the ferry,
which was travelling to Italy from Greece, showed up.
Stowaways were also possible.
Helicopter crews had been brought in to rescue passengers
and crew members from the ferry.
However, rough seas and stormy weather hampered the rescue
effort that continued through Sunday and into the next
day.
The death toll continued to rise as investigators took
stock of the disaster and began a probe of how the fire started.
Rescued passengers were treated for hypothermia from the
cold and wet.
But continued bad weather and rough seas on Tuesday
hampered the arrival in the port of Manfredonia of 39
people rescued from the ferry disaster.
The group were on board a merchant ship and were expecting
to land in Manfredonia, in Italy's southern Puglia region.
Reports say that two members of the group have minor
injuries with the rest said to be in good condition.
Also, two Albanian sailors were killed Tuesday and another
seriously injured as their tug boat towed the stricken ferry.
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