A deadly fire broke out on an Italian ferry off the coast of Greece at about 4am local time on Sunday, killing seven people and kicking off a dangerous joint rescue operation on the choppy Adriatic Sea. More than 400 people were eventually removed from the ship, despite rough seas and high winds.
According to Bloomberg, the captain of the vessel, the Norman Atlantic, was confirmed as the last person to leave the ship when resuce operations concluded, just before 3pm local time on Monday.
Click here for more details about the fire and the rescue operation. Click through the following pages for images of the fire and the dramatic resuce.
In this image provided by the Italian Navy, smoke billows from the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic after it caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. A fire erupted on a ferry carrying 478 people from Greece to Italy on Sunday, leaving one person dead and trapping hundreds on top decks as gale-force winds and choppy seas hampered evacuation. The Italian Navy said that the victim and an injured person were transported by helicopter to the southern Italian city of Brindisi on Sunday evening. (AP Photo/Italian Navy)
In this photo taken from a nearby ship, vessels try to extinguish the fire at the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic after it caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. Italian and Greek military and coast guard rescue crews battled gale-force winds and massive waves Sunday as they struggled to rescue hundreds of people trapped on a burning ferry adrift between Italy and Albania. The Italian Defense Ministry said 165 of the 478 people on the ferry had been evacuated by Sunday evening, more than 14 hours after the fire erupted. (AP Photo/SKAI TV Station)
Rescuers assist a passenger of the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic that caught fire in the Adriatic Sea. Greek and Italian rescue helicopters and vessels struggled to reach the stricken ferry, with nearby merchant ships lining up to form a wall against the raging gusts. (AP Photo/Luigi Mistrulli)
In this image released by the Italian Navy, passengers and crew are seen on the deck of the Italian-flagged ferry Norman Atlantic as it is approached by a rescue helicopter. Italian and Greek rescue crews battled gale-force winds and massive waves as they struggled Sunday to evacuate hundreds of people from the ferry. (AP Photo/Italian Navy)
Smoke billows from the Norman Atlantic ferry in the Adriatic Sea. (AP Photo/Italian Navy)
In this image taken from a video released by the Italian Coast Guard, smoke billows from the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic. (AP Photo/Italian Coast Guard)
In this image taken from a video released by the Italian Air Force, a woman holds her baby as they sit in a wire basket being hosted aboard an Italian Air Force helicopter after being rescued from the Norman Atlantic. (AP Photo/Italian Air Force)
Greece's Coast Guard spokesman Nikolaos Lagadianos, center, delivers a statement to the media concerning the ferry fire, outside the Merchant Marine Ministry in Piraeus port, near Athens, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
In this image provided by the Italian Navy, smoke billows from the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic. (AP Photo/Italian Navy)
Athanasios Athanasopoulos chief of Greece's coast guard indicates the last known position of the stricken ferry, at the Merchant Marine operation room in Piraeus port, near Athens. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
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