190 of the 478 people on a burning ferry sailing from the Greek port of Patras to Ancona in Italy have reportedly been evacuated by late Sunday night after waiting nearly a day to be evacuated, according to USA Today.

A Greek government official stated that one man had died but there were no other confirmed reports of casualties among the almost 500 passengers and crew, according to NBC News.

Most of the passengers and crew that were rescued were reportedly airlifted by helicopter to other vessels sailing nearby while a few were flown to hospitals to be treated for hypothermia. A tug boat from Vlore was reportedly preparing to tow the burning ferry to Albania’s main port of Durres, where it was already being driven due to strong winds.

“It will be a very difficult night. A night in which we hope we will be able to rescue all on board,” stated Greek Merchant Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis stated in Athens.

Greek coastguard spokesman Nikos Lagkadianos had reportedly stated that heavy rain had helped contain the fire on the burning ferry although it was hampering the rescue.

“We are making superhuman efforts in this extremely difficult operation. Operations by air will continue throughout the night,” stated Lagkadianos.

The fire reportedly broke out before dawn on Sunday on a car deck of the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic. After the fire broke, passengers reportedly huddled on the vessel’s upper decks in the rain trying to breathe through the thick smoke, passengers told Greek media by phone.

“We are outside, we are very cold, the ship is full of smoke,” passenger Giorgos Stiliaras told Greek Mega TV.

The ferry was reportedly last inspected by the Patras Port Authority on December 19 and six “deficiencies” were found, but none were serious enough to keep it in port, according to the report on the European Maritime Safety Agency’s website.

Smoke was reportedly getting into the helicopter cabin, making the rescue even more difficult.

“With the wind, smoke entered into the helicopter cabin, acrid smoke,” Maj. Antonio Laneve told Italian state TV.