Updated Monday 8.35am - A Syrian man holding Maltese identity papers has been rescued from a burning Italian ferry in the Adriatic and is being taken to Italy.

The man, identified as M Almohamed, holds a Maltese 'alien' ID Card after having been granted refugee status. He used to live in Zabbar and is married to a Cypriot. He was rescued late yesterday evening and was unhurt. He has been taken to Ravenna on an Italian ship.   

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced his rescue in a tweet after having earlier said the Maltese authorities were following developments.

The Italian-flagged  Norman Atlantic ferry caught fire early yesterday morning as it sailed in heavy seas across the Adriatic from Greece to Ancona in Italy.  

Rescue teams working through the night pulled 265 people off the stricken ship but more than 200 are stranded on board, the Italian navy said this morning.

Helicopter crews have been slowly airlifting passengers from the upper deck of the Norman Atlantic, which caught fire in the early hours of yesterday and began drifting in rough seas between Greece and Italy.

A medical team and a flight operator are on the vessel to assist the 213 passengers and crew who remain aboard as the rescue continues, the navy said.

After initial rescue efforts were impeded by bad weather that prevented other ships nearing the multideck ferry, Italian and Greek helicopter crews began the difficult airborne operation on Sunday afternoon.

The operation is being coordinated from the Italian navy's amphibious transport ship the San Giorgio, while the Norman Atlantic is towed to the southern Italian port of Brindisi.

One man was confirmed to have died on Sunday and there were four reported injuries. Several passengers have been flown to Galatina in southern Italy.

The Norman Atlantic, chartered by Greek ferry operator Anek Lines, was sailing between Patros in western Greece to Ancona in Italy carrying 478 passengers and crew and more than 200 vehicles when it caught fire.

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