Number of people missing after ferry fire disputed by Italy and Greece

It took two days to rescue around 400 people from the ship after a fire started on the car deck. Credit: Italian Navy

Confusion surrounds the number of people still missing after a ferry caught fire in the Adriatic Sea after officials from Italy and Greece released disputing figures.

An Italian prosecutor has said up to 98 people are unaccounted for while Greece puts that number at 18 and says Italy's list is full of duplications and misspellings.

It is also still not clear how many people were even aboard the Norman Atlantic ferry that caught fire early on Sunday as it headed from Greece to Italy. Italy's Coast Guard says 477 people were rescued.

A tug has now begun towing the ferry to the Italian port of Brindisi across wind-whipped seas - an operation which could take 15 hours, depending on weather.