Authorities are still unclear about the fate of about unaccounted passengers aboard the ill-fate car ferry Norman Atlantic whether they died in the tragedy that claimed 11 lives or weren't in the vessel in the first place.

A thorough inspection of the burned vessel would help establish if there are still more bodies inside the ferry, but bad weather stopped Italian investigators from towing the vessel to the Port of Brindisi, reports the Telegraph.

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The Sunday blaze that hit the vessel while it was on its way to Italy from Greece took 34 hours to douse.

Among the scenarios being painted include some of the passengers could be hidden inside lorries after investigators found that two Afghans and one Syrian were illegal migrants who planned to ask for political asylum once the vessel reaches Italy.

Some may have died due to suffocation from the smoke, while others may be burned while sleeping inside their cabins.

Giuseppe Volpe, a Bari prosecutor who leads the probe, said that investigators could only be sure about the number of dead people if the vessel has been inspected.

Italian prosecutors got jurisdiction over the case because the vessels owner and captain are Italian.

The ferry is still at Vlora, an Albanian port city 10 nautical miles off the country's cast. Italian tug boats, now on standby, are ready to tow the ferry to Brindisi when the weather improves.

It was adrift for three days on the Adriatic Sea coast because a tow line that was used to secure the ferry to a tugboat snapped.

Of the 499 people believed to be on board the ferry, 390 were rescued, 11 died, leaving 98 unaccounted for. The death toll rose to 11 when the Italian Coast Guard found on Tuesday one body inside the ferry.

They identified three of the bodies as those of Italian truck drivers who were aboard the ferry to pick up ill shipments in Greece.

TagsNorman Atlantic, maritime disaster