Ten people were declared dead on Monday by the Italian Coast Guard, with Italian official sources confirming that more than 40 people were still believed missing from the vessel. More than 400 people, including the crew, were rescued from the ferry that was hit by a fire while travelling from Greek port of Patras for Ancona in Italy, with 478 people in board.

The Albanian National broadcaster Top-Channel reported that the Harbour Master of Vlora had confirmed that the two sailors were on the crew of the Iliria tugboat, which had been working on the rescue.  

The Albanian Interior Ministry, cited in the Albanian newspaper Panorama, said that the dead sailors were not part of the Albanian Armed Forces, but part of the crew of a private tugboat.

The Norman Atlantic ferryboat is actually near the southeastern Italian port of Bari, Italy, but the bad weather conditions jeopardized the entrance of the damaged vessel in the port.

- All 54 Turk passengers rescued

Diplomatic sources told The Anadolu Agency that all 54 Turkish passengers of the Norman Atlantic ferryboat were rescued, and are in good health condition.

Thirteen Turks, who were on the ferry, were first sent to Thessaloniki, Greece, and will be sent to Istanbul shortly.

Separately, 31 Turks were sent to Italy on two Italian military ships and on one Malta-flagged cargo ship.