Passengers from stricken ferry arrive in Bari

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

A cargo ship carrying some 50 passengers rescued from a stricken car ferry arrived in Italy's southern port city of Bari on Monday (December 29) morning.

Rescue teams working through the night have pulled 265 people off Norman Atlantic which caught fire off the coast of Greece but more than 200 are stranded on board, the Italian navy said.

Helicopter crews have been slowly airlifting passengers from the upper deck of the ship, which caught fire in the early hours of Sunday (December 28) 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 bei