Greece Orders Probe Into Ferry Tragedy

Athens: Greece's Supreme Court today ordered a probe into the cause of the deadly blaze on the Norman Atlantic ferry which was carrying nearly 400 people from Greece to Italy.

Merchant Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis asked for a speedy investigation "to shed light on the conditions under which the accident occurred".

At least 10 people died and dozens are missing after the Italian-owned ship caught fire on Sunday off the Greek island of Corfu. The disaster claimed two more lives when two Albanian seamen died when a cable linking their tugboat to the ferry snapped.

Several Greek passengers who were rescued have complained that the crew did not warn them that a fire had broken out and were totally unprepared to tackle an emergency.

Many have recounted how it was either thick smoke or other passengers who woke those who were sleeping in cabins, rather than crew or alarms.