Stranded passengers were evacuated from a ferry adrift after a fire in rough seas between Albania and Italy, as the death toll in the disaster rose to eight, authorities said.
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said that the evacuation was completed, and that only the vessel's captain and four Italian sailors remained on board to assist in the operation.
More than 400 people were evacuated from the ferry.
The Italian navy said the number of known dead rose to eight today.
A formal criminal investigation has been launched, a representative for the prosecutor in Bari, Italy, Giuseppe Volpe, confirmed to ABC News.
The stranded passengers endured hours of gale force winds after a fire broke out on the ship. Most were airlifted by helicopter to other merchant vessels sailing nearby, though a few were flown to hospitals in southern Italy to be treated for hypothermia.
A cargo ship carrying 49 survivors arrived in the Italian port of Bari, the first big group of victims to reach land. Weather hampered rescue efforts, authorities said.
Italian Navy/AP Photo
PHOTO: In this image provided by the Italian Navy, smoke billows from the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic after it caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, Dec. 28, 2014.
The ship, the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic, ran into trouble when a fire broke out on a car deck before dawn Sunday.
The Norman Atlantic, carrying almost 500 people, had left the Greek port of Patras, sailing towards Ancona, Italy.
"There were hundreds of containers with oil, they went on fire," one survivor said. "Floors started collapsing from the heat."
Ciro Luca/Reuters
PHOTO: Italian Coast Guard members carry a body as they arrive in the Brindisi harbor, Brindisi, Italy, Dec. 28, 2014.
The flames that engulfed the ship's interior have since been put out, according to the Italian navy, but gale force winds and poor visibility hampered rescue efforts.
As the fire blazed, passengers fled to the vessel's upper decks, where they huddled, pelted by rain and hail, as thick smoke billowed up from the decks below, passengers told Greek media by phone.
"We are outside, we are very cold, the ship is full of smoke," passenger Giorgos Stiliaras told Greek Mega TV.
SKAI TV Station/AP Photo
PHOTO: In this photo taken from a nearby ship, smoke rises from the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic ferry after it caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, Dec. 28, 2014.
He recalled people being awakened by "the smell of burning plastic" and said the heat from the fire made it feel like the floors were "boiling."
Hours after officials said the fires on the vessel had been put out, thick dark smoke continued to rise out of the ship, complicating the rescue efforts filling the cabins of helicopters hovering over the ship trying to lift the passengers to safety.
Italian Navy/AP Photo
PHOTO: 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 after it caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, Dec. 28, 2014.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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