BARI, Italy (AP) — Helicopters defied high winds, stormy seas and darkness Monday to pluck hundreds of passengers from a Greek ferry that caught fire off Albania, as survivors told of a frantic rush to escape the flames and pelting rain. Five people died and dozens remained trapped on board a day after the fire broke out. 
 
 In this image released by the Italian Navy, passengers and crew of the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic, that caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, are rescued from the Italian Navy ship San Giorgio, Monday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this image taken from a video released by the Italian Coast Guard, smoke billows from the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic that caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. Italian and Greek... (Associated Press) 
 
 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... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this image released by the Italian Navy, passengers of the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic, that caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, are rescued from the Italian Navy ship San Giorgio, Monday, Dec. 29,... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo taken from a nearby ship, smoke rises from the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic after it caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The ferry carrying hundreds of passengers... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this image released by the Italian Navy, smoke billows from the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic that caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. A cargo ship with 49 people evacuated from... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this image taken from video and released by the Italian Navy, a woman is lifted from the deck of the Italian-flagged ferry Norman Atlantic by a rescue helicopter after it caught fire in the Adriatic... (Associated Press) 
 
 Exhausted and cold from their ordeal, 49 passengers reached land Monday in the southern Italian port of Bari, more than 24 hours after fire broke out on a car deck of the ferry making a journey from the Greek port of Patras to Ancona in Italy. 
 
 Fewer than 100 people remained stranded on the smoke-filled vessel adrift in frigid temperatures and rough seas near the Albanian coast. Helicopters worked night and day plucking passengers off the stricken vessel and ferrying them to 10 or so mercantile ships nearby that were summoned to help. 
 
 One Greek man died on Sunday after becoming trapped in a lifeboat chute. Greek Coast Guard spokesman Nikos Lagadianos said four more people were found dead on Monday. Of the 478 passengers and crew on board the ferry, 391 have been rescued so far. 
 
 A Greek truck driver, reached by The Associated Press aboard one of the rescue vessels, described the rescue scene as "a chaos, a panic." He said the fire alarm came after most passengers, alerted by smoke filling their cabins, had gone outside, and that there was no crew in sight to direct passengers. 
 
 "Our feet were burning and from the feet up we were soaked," Christos Perlis, 32, told the AP by telephone. 
 
 When rescue helicopters arrived, Perlis said passengers began to panic. 
 
 "Everyone there was trampling on each other to get onto the helicopter," said Perlis, who said he and another man tried to impose order. 
 
 "First children, then women and then men. But the men, they started hitting us so they could get on first. They didn't take into consideration the women or the children, nothing," Perlis said. He said he reached safety after jumping in a helicopter basket carrying a girl. 
 
 Turkish passenger Saadet Bayhan, speaking to Turkey's NTV television from a rescue ship, confirmed that there were no fire alarms and that passengers woke each other up. 
 
 "We experienced the Titanic. The only thing missing was that we didn't sink," she said. 
 
 Most evacuees were to be brought to shore later after the rescue was completed, Greek officials said, but one of the cargo ships, the Spirit of Piraeus, left ahead of the pack, reaching Bari just after 7:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) Monday with 49 survivors aboard. The first to disembark was an injured man wrapped in a yellow striped blanket and wearing bandages around his bare feet, helped down the ship's ladder by two rescue workers. 
 
 Other evacuees, many wrapped in blankets, made their way gingerly down the ladder with assistance, some thrusting their hands in a victory sign as they waited their turn. Among them were four children. The evacuees then boarded bright red fire department buses. Officials have said hotels have been booked for them around town. 
 
 The fire broke out before dawn Sunday on a car deck of the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic, carrying 422 passengers and 56 crew members. All day and night, passengers huddled on the vessel's upper decks, pelted by rain and hail and struggling to breathe through the thick smoke. 
 
 By midday Monday, 391 people had been evacuated, leaving fewer than 100 more on board, Greek officials said. Italian Premier Matteo Renzi told an annual year-end press conference that he expected the rescue to be completed "within hours" and that there could be a discrepancy between the final number of people accounted-for and ship's manifest due to the likelihood that the ferry also carried illegal migrants. 
 
 Survivors were also taken to southern Italian hospitals in smaller numbers in the hours immediately after the rescue operation got underway. Several were treated for hypothermia, some for mild carbon monoxide poisoning and one woman suffered a fractured pelvis, officials said. 
 
 A local convent was housing survivors who were released from the hospital. 
 
 Helicopters rescued passengers throughout the night, completing 34 sorties with winds over 40 knots (75 kph; 46 mph). The Greek coast guard said seven people had been airlifted from the ferry to Corfu. 
 
 "Notwithstanding the weather and the darkness, which is another factor, we persisted throughout the entire night," Italian coast guard Admiral Giovanni Pettorino told Sky TG24. 
 
 Those remaining on board were given thermal blankets and found places to wait protected from the elements "even if the conditions remain very difficult," Pettorino said. 
 
 Italian navy Capt. Riccardo Rizzotto said the ultimate destination of the stricken ferry was unclear. Some Italian officials said it would likely be towed to an Italian port, even though it was currently closer to Albania. 
 
 "The priority now is to rescue the crew and passengers as quickly as possible," Rizzotto said. 
 
 The second injury was to a member of the Italian military involved in the rescue operation, Pettorino said. 
 
 Pettorino said two Italian tugs tried to attach themselves to the ferry in the evening, but were frustrated by the thick smoke. Eventually the tugs managed to attach the line to stabilize the ferry, ANSA reported. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Winfield reported from Rome. Colleen Barry in Milan; Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece; Suzan Frazer in Ankara, Turkey; Elena Becatoros, Derek Gatopoulos, Nicholas Paphitis and Demetris Nellas in Athens, Greece; and Frances D'Emilio in Rome contributed ||||| Brindisi, Italy (CNN) Conditions for the rescue of passengers off a ferry that caught fire in the Adriatic Sea could hardly have been worse. 
 
 Strong winds, choppy seas and thick smoke pounded the efforts. 
 
 In the end, at least 10 people died, the Italian coast guard said on Monday. But many more were saved -- 427 -- the coast guard said. 
 
 The fire is believed to have started in the garage area shortly after the ship set sail. 
 
 Ferry catches fire between Greece Italy – The fire is believed to have started in the garage area shortly after the ship set sail. 
 
 Greece's Coast Guard spokesman Nikolaos Lagadianos delivers a statement concerning the fire to the media in Piraeus port. 
 
 Ferry catches fire between Greece Italy – Greece's Coast Guard spokesman Nikolaos Lagadianos delivers a statement concerning the fire to the media in Piraeus port. 
 
 Smoke billows from the ferry. It was heading from Igoumenitsa, Greece, to Ancona, Italy. 
 
 Ferry catches fire between Greece Italy – Smoke billows from the ferry. It was heading from Igoumenitsa, Greece, to Ancona, Italy. 
 
 An Italian Navy rescue unit leaves the port of Brindisi. A joint Italian-Greek rescue operation will continue into Sunday night according to the Italian Minister of Defense, Roberta Pinotti. 
 
 Ferry catches fire between Greece Italy – An Italian Navy rescue unit leaves the port of Brindisi. A joint Italian-Greek rescue operation will continue into Sunday night according to the Italian Minister of Defense, Roberta Pinotti. 
 
 Ferry catches fire between Greece, Italy – Passengers wait to be rescued from the burning ferry. 
 
 An Italian Navy helicopter and a rescue unit leave the port of Brindisi to take part in the rescue operations. 
 
 Ferry catches fire between Greece Italy – An Italian Navy helicopter and a rescue unit leave the port of Brindisi to take part in the rescue operations. 
 
 Smoke billows from the Norman Atlantic in the Adriatic Sea on December 28, in this image taken from a video released by the Italian Coast Guard. 
 
 Ferry catches fire between Greece, Italy – Smoke billows from the Norman Atlantic in the Adriatic Sea on December 28, in this image taken from a video released by the Italian Coast Guard. 
 
 Smoke billows from the Norman Atlantic in the Adriatic Sea on Sunday, December 28, In this image released by the Italian Navy. 
 
 Ferry catches fire between Greece, Italy – Smoke billows from the Norman Atlantic in the Adriatic Sea on Sunday, December 28, In this image released by the Italian Navy. 
 
 Passengers eat after their arrival at the airport of Corfu island in Greece on December 29. 
 
 Ferry catches fire between Greece, Italy – Passengers eat after their arrival at the airport of Corfu island in Greece on December 29. 
 
 Survivors of the ferry fire are helped by rescuers as they disembark from a rescue ship in the Bari harbor in Italy on December 29. 
 
 Ferry catches fire between Greece, Italy – Survivors of the ferry fire are helped by rescuers as they disembark from a rescue ship in the Bari harbor in Italy on December 29. 
 
 A passenger of the Norman Atlantic is carried on a stretcher in Bari harbor in Italy on Monday, December 29. The ferry, carrying hundreds of passengers, caught fire early Sunday, trapping passengers on the top decks as gale-force winds and choppy seas hampered the evacuation. 
 
 Ferry catches fire between Greece, Italy – A passenger of the Norman Atlantic is carried on a stretcher in Bari harbor in Italy on Monday, December 29. The ferry, carrying hundreds of passengers, caught fire early Sunday, trapping passengers on the top decks as gale-force winds and choppy seas hampered the evacuation. 
 
 Ute Kilger was one of those who survived. 
 
 "We were wet and cold, and the rain was like needles," she said. "There was always these explosions and this feeling you have in your feet. It goes through your body." 
 
 Talking to CNN in donated Red Cross pajamas, she stumbled over her words: "It was unreal, but I knew it is so real. This was really bad, to really know, it is real." 
 
 The Italian coast guard earlier said that all remaining passengers had been evacuated from the vessel, with the boat's commander finally leaving the ship at 2:50 p.m. Monday. The coast guard said it was inspecting the ship and deciding how to transport it -- and where. 
 
 The public prosecutor in Bari, Italy, said he had requested the seizure of the ship as part of a criminal investigation. Authorities are waiting for authorization from Albanian officials to release the ship, because it is in Albanian waters. 
 
 Giuseppe Volpe, the prosecutor, added that the owner and the captain of the ship will be notified of the investigation. No charges have been filed. 
 
 More than 400 passengers were traveling on the Norman Atlantic between the Greek port of Igoumenitsa and the Italian port of Ancona when the fire began, apparently in the ferry's parking bay. 
 
 'Dying of cold' 
 
 In the first three hours of the fire, around 150 people were able to escape via the vessel's lifeboats. But when the ferry lost power, the electronic arms were unable to function, leaving the rest of the boats dangling uselessly by its side. 
 
 After waiting for hours in rough conditions, one Greek man told Italian state broadcaster RAI TV that passengers were "dying of cold and suffocating from the smoke," and that their feet were burning from the heat of the flames. 
 
 Helicopters with night vision equipment worked through the night to pull passengers off the ferry, one by one. 
 
 An Italian navy medical team boarded the ship to aid passengers, some of whom had been suffering hypothermia and smoke inhalation, the navy said. The already cold conditions were worsened by the spray from tugboat hoses as authorities attempted to douse the flames. 
 
 A freighter carrying 49 rescued passengers arrived at the port of Bari on Monday. Photos showed survivors wrapped in emergency foil blankets being carried away on stretchers. 
 
 One man died after he jumped or fell into the cold water, authorities said. It is unclear how the other victims died. 
 
 'Prisoners on a burning ship' 
 
 JUST WATCHED Hundreds trapped on a burning ferry Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Hundreds trapped on a burning ferry 01:14 
 
 JUST WATCHED First images from inside burning ferry Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH First images from inside burning ferry 02:06 
 
 JUST WATCHED Hundreds aboard ferry burning in Adriatic Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Hundreds aboard ferry burning in Adriatic 02:22 
 
 Dramatic cell phone images filmed by a passenger showed flames through shattered portholes, while a wider view released by rescuers showed a huge plume of thick, black smoke streaming from the stricken vessel. 
 
 Many passengers were unable to reach the lower decks because of the heat, and the water below was so cold that jumping clear of the ferry was not an option. 
 
 Sea surface temperatures had been around 14 to 15 degrees Celsius (57 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit), CNN meteorologist Tom Sater said, which would have limited the survival time in the water to six hours at most. 
 
 Passengers told Greek and Italian newsgroups they had felt like "prisoners on a burning ship." 
 
 It's not known how the fire started, but it is believed to have originated in the parking bay. A truck driver told the Greek news media that trucks filled with oil were "packed like sardines," their cargo scraping the ceiling, which could have set off sparks in rough seas to start a fire, he surmised. 
 
 Greek authorities said the vessel's fire doors appeared to have failed, which allowed the flames to spread quickly.
– Simultaneously battling driving rain, gale-force winds, freezing temperatures, flames, and smoke, Italian and Greek rescuers have painstakingly plucked all of more than 400 passengers and crew from a blazing ferry in the Adriatic Sea, reports CNN. In the course of the daylong rescue, they came upon four more bodies from the Norman Atlantic in the water, reports the AP; two more bodies were recovered after that, bringing the death toll to seven. One man died yesterday after becoming trapped in a lifeboat chute. Passengers, who were in communication with media via telephone, described a hellish scene as they awaited an arduous rescue via helicopter: "Our feet were burning, and from the feet up we were soaked," one passenger tells the AP, adding that people were "trampling on each other to get onto the helicopter." Echoes another, per CNN: Those aboard were "dying of cold and suffocating from the smoke." Says yet another passenger, "We experienced the Titanic. The only thing missing was that we didn't sink." Some 150 passengers were able to escape in the first hours after the fire broke out on the ferry's car deck, notes CNN; subsequent lifeboats couldn't be deployed when the boat lost power, rendering the electronic arms that moved the vessels useless. Survivors, some limping or with bandaged feet, were being brought to shore in Italy. Several have been treated for hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning, notes the AP. A total of 414 people were rescued, with the captain being the last to leave. The ferry is expected to eventually be towed to Italy.