Fifty-nine people died when a Greek ferry sank off the island of Paros in the Aegean Sea while 27 remained missing, the merchant marine said Wednesday.
The latest toll however appeared to contradict one given earlier by government spokesman Dimitris Reppas who said 45 people died, 10 were missing and 471 were rescued.
The merchant marine said 443 passengers had been rescued after the Express Samena ran aground Tuesday evening.
The vessel reportedly ran aground and sank within a matter of minutes, according to early reports.
Another 430 passengers and crew were rescued and treated at the small medical center on Paros island, near the scene of the disaster, the merchant navy ministry announced early Wednesday.
Five seriously injured people were due to be transferred to Athens, but none were in a critical condition.
Early Wednesday two Greek army Super-Puma helicopters joined the coastguard in the search for survivors.
Two British Navy ships, the aircraft carrier Invincible and the frigate Liverpool, also joined the operation. Two helicopters from the Invincible also took part in the search.
But violent winds of up to force nine on the Beaufort scale hampered the operation. The mayor of Paros Constantin Argoulas said in a radio interview that conditions were not good for finding survivors.
The owners of the boat, Hellas Ferries a subsidiary of Minoan Lines, said there had been 64 crew members and 447 passengers on board, including about 40 foreigners.
All had been given life jackets and all the life boats had been launched, it added.
The ministry said the number of missing could be lower than at first thought as some passengers could have reached the shore of Paros unaided and not required medical attention.
But some survivors told an Athens radio station they feared the death toll could rise as the Samena Express ferry had taken on board some passengers from another ferry that had not sailed.
Besides those reported dead in the accident, assistant port police chief Dimitris Malamas died of a heart attack during the rescue operation, authorities said.
The accident occurred between 1907 GMT and 1925 GMT Tuesday when the ferry was running its regular daily route between islands -- including Paros -- of the Cyclades archipelago.
It ran aground on Portes, a rocky islet situated at the entry to Paros port. The islet is lit by a lighthouse.
The 34-year-old boat, was due to be replaced next year.
Greek media reported that the rescue operation was chaotic, despite official reports to the contrary.
The media reports speculated that the age of the ferry could have been a factor in the accident.
Other reports suggested "human error", speculating that crew members might have been watching a European Champions League football match on television featuring a Greek side at the time of the accident.
Georges Toussas, president of the naval navigators' union (PEMEN), told Skai radio that the boat's owners had fired Anastase Sarotos the boat's navigator, after he wrote a report criticising the boat's condition.
But the merchant marine ministry denounced his comments early Wednesday. Toussas had picked a bad moment to play partisan politics, it said.
Meanwhile another ferry, the Sappho, ran aground at dawn Wednesday in the port of Chios, also in Aegean, the ministry said.
All aboard had escaped safely, it added - ATHENS (AFP)
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