In this image, vessels try to extinguish the fire at the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic after it caught fire in the Adriatic Sea. (Associated Press)
Two Albanian seamen who took part in the rescue operation for the Norman Atlantic ferry have died from injuries incurred in an accident, the Italian navy said today.
The merchant sailors were on board a tugboat when the cables attaching it to the stricken ferry snapped, the navy said without providing further details.
The deaths mean the number of lives lost as a result of Sunday's fire on the ferry has risen to 12.
Nearly 40 passengers thought to have been on the boat remain unaccounted for but it is unclear whether that is due to inaccurate manifest lists or whether some of them may have perished unnoticed in the chaotic early stages of the disaster.