(Bloomberg) -- Ten people died and several people may be missingas rescue teams continue to search for bodies following theevacuation of 427 people in rough seas and high winds from anItalian ferry that caught fire en route from Greece to Italy.

The presence of three stowaways, overbookings and evacuatedpassengers make it difficult to give a number of missing people atthis time, Giuseppe Volpe, prosecutor for the Italian city of Bari,said in a press conference today broadcast on Sky TG24. Greekweekly newspaper To Vima reported yesterday that 38 people may bemissing.

Volpe said the latest tally shows 499 people were on board theNorman Atlantic ferry although once the ship is towed to safety hesaid some dead stowaways may be found in the hold.

An Italian-led operation evacuated passengers and put out thefire that broke out Dec. 28 at 4:00 a.m. local time in thecar-parking area of the ferry that departed from the Greek port ofPatras en route to Ancona, Italy. Rescue teams faced dense smoke,rough seas and high flames fanned by winds of over 40 knots (46miles per hour) that caused concern the ship might topple over,naval authorities said at a press conference in Rome yesterday.

The rough weather prevented other vessels from approaching theship forcing rescue crews to evacuate people one by one in anoperation that lasted over 34 hours. The Italian Navy postedpictures on its Twitter page showing helicopters taking off forrescue missions and the smoking ferry listing in high seas.

Ferry Captain

The ferry boat’s captain was the last to leave the ship, theItalian Coast Guard said in a Twitter post. Italian media pointedout the stark contrast between his behavior and that of FrancescoSchettino, captain of cruise ship Costa Concordia, who abandonedship before all passengers were safe after his vessel rammed intorocks and partially sank off the Tuscan coast on Jan 13, 2012.

The next step will be to tow the ferry to safety, a difficulttask due to high seas and strong winds that can break the cablesused to tug the vessel, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said yesterdayduring a press conference in Rome. Maritime salvage operatorBoskalis Westminster NV said it has sent 15 employees and 12 tonsof material and pumps on location.

The Italian Transport Ministry said in a statement it haslegally seized the vessel pending an investigation into the causesof the fire.

--With assistance from Elco van Groningen in Amsterdam andNikos Chrysoloras in Athens.

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