Prosecutor says 98 missing from Norman Atlantic - update 2

(ANSA) - Bari, December 31 - Bari prosecutor Giuseppe Volpe said Wednesday that 98 passengers of the Norman Atlantic ferry that caught fire on Sunday are still unaccounted for. Volpe added that helicopters and a merchant ship have brought 80 survivors to Greece in past few hours. A second merchant ship that came to the rescue has also not been heard from, he said. "Weather conditions won't allow for the ferry to be towed to Puglia, so it is moving towards Valona Bay in Albania," he added. The stricken ferry was originally to be towed to Brindisi as part of an investigation into the disaster. It is currently about ten miles off Valona, and if weather conditions allow it will be towed back to Brindisi as early as tonight in order to arrive on New Year's Day, authorities said.