Update 2pm: At least three people, including a child, have died and another four are injured in a collision between a speedboat and a tourist vessel, the Greek Coast Guard has said.

Rescue crews battled gale-force winds and massive waves as they struggled to rescue hundreds of people trapped on a burning ferry adrift between Italy and Albania.

A ferry carrying about 470 people caught fire off the Greek island of Corfu, trapping passengers on the top decks as gale-force winds and choppy seas hampered the evacuation.

A Russian cargo ship cruising off southern Italy discovered suspected illegal immigrants on a small boat – six of whom were dead and six alive, officials said today.