Greek Merchant Marine Ministry News

Rescuers pulled bodies from the Aegean sea on Wednesday as the death toll from Greece's worst maritime disaster in 35 years climbed to at least 62. The ferry Express Samina ran into a rocky islet off the holiday isle of Paros and sank in gale-force conditions late on Tuesday. Hundreds of Greek and foreign passengers were hurled into the rough waters. Twenty-nine people were missing, the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry said. Survivors described a night of terror, clutching life vests and floating debris, and of fishermen "heroes" who came to their rescue. An all-night, all-day rescue operation - reinforced by passing British warships - combed the seas off Paros, a popular tourist destination in the idyllic Cycladic island chain southeast of Athens, for survivors in gale force winds.

The Greek Merchant Marine Ministry has lifted a ban on 61 passenger ferries ordered into port for failing to meet safety requirements after the sinking of the Express Samina last month, Reuters reported. The ferries, confined to harbor since October 1, completed security refitting mainly involving fire safety. Sixty-five ferries were initially banned from sailing until they met the safety requirements. A total of 47 island ferries, nine international cruise ships and nine ferries on the Piraeus-Crete line were affected. Three ferries and one cruise ship are still confined to port. The ban came in the wake of the Express Samina mishap - Greece's worst sea tragedy in decades - which saw 80 people die.

A Turkish boat with 68 people on board has issued a distress signal south of the Greek island of Rhodes, the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry said on Thursday. "It appears to have engine failure but not to be sinking," a ministry spokesman said. He said the ministry had been notified by Ankara rescue authorities, who said the vessel, the Angel, with three crew members and scores of passengers was in distress in international waters within Greek rescue jurisdiction 23 miles south of Rhodes. The nationalities of the passengers were not yet known but the ministry was examining the possibility they may be refugees, the spokesman said. "Although there doesn't seem to be any immediate danger, our first priority is to get them to safety," he added.

At least 10 illegal immigrants died in a fire Nov. 2 on the vehicle deck of an Italy-bound Greek ferry with more than 400 people aboard and a search was under way for more bodies, according to the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry. The bodies were found in the garage level of the Superfast 3 ferry, where a fire broke out shortly after the ship sailed from Patras in Greece for Italy's Adriatic Seaport of Ancona. All 307 passengers and most of the 106 crew were evacuated by coast guard vessels and other civilian ships in the area, and the fire was quickly put under control. At first, the ministry said there were no casualties, but when firemen inspected the damage they discovered dead bodies -- believed to be illegal Kurdish immigrants hiding in the garage, who had suffocated from the smoke.