A Georgian citizen, who was on board of the fire-stricken Norman Atlantic ferry, has been confirmed dead.

Body of Ilia Kartozia, a priest from the Georgian Orthodox Church, was recovered from the sea and brought in the Italian port of Brindisi by the Italian navy ship San Giorgio, it was reported late on Tuesday.

There were seven other Georgian nationals on board of the Norman Atlantic, which caught fire early on December 28 while on its way from Patras in Greece to Ancona in Italy.

These seven Georgians, including a nine-year old boy, were among those over 400 passengers who were evacuated from the ferry as a result of 36-hour rescue operation.

“They are all in Bari now and feel normal,” Georgia’s ambassador to Italy, Kakha Sikharulidze, said.

At least 11 people are known to have died on the ferry as well as two Albanian seamen, who died during the secure efforts; dozens are unaccounted for.