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More bodies found on burned ferry in Greece, death toll at 11

ASSOCIATED PRESS / FEB/ 20
                                Smoke rises from the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia, which is on fire for third day, in the Ionian Sea near the Greek island of Corfu.

ASSOCIATED PRESS / FEB/ 20

Smoke rises from the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia, which is on fire for third day, in the Ionian Sea near the Greek island of Corfu.

ATHENS, Greece >> Greece’s coast guard says crews have recovered two more bodies from a ferry that caught fire last month as it sailed between Greece and Italy. That brings the total death toll to 11.

The two bodies were found on a car deck of the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia, the coast guard said Wednesday, adding that there were no longer any people listed as missing. Neither has been identified but both are believed to belong to truck drivers.

The Feb. 18 fire broke out after the ferry with 292 people on board sailed out of the northwestern Greek port of Igoumenitsa, headed for Brindisi, Italy. Most were rescued by a nearby Italian customs vessel and a Greek coast guard patrol boat that arrived later.

Two men who had been trapped in a hold were rescued by helicopter and a third managed to reach the deck and alert rescuers by himself after being missing for two days.

The cause of the blaze is being investigated. The vessel’s Italian operators said it started in a vehicle hold.

The ferry is currently anchored off the western Greek port of Astakos.

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