Three people died when the Costa Concordia struck a reef and sank onto its side off of the small island of Giglio, Italy, early Saturday. The U.S. embassy in Rome said none of the 126 Americans on board the ship are among those who were seriously injured.
The latest rescue this morning was of an Italian who worked for the ship's cabin service and was hoisted off the ship with a broken leg approximately 36 hours after the accident, according to The Associated Press. It followed the rescue of South Korean newlyweds late Saturday after screams were heard coming from their cabin.
Authorities reduced to 17 from 40 the number of people still unaccounted for, with an Italian who worked in cabin service pulled from the wreckage of the Costa Concordia off the tiny island of Giglio. A South Korean couple on their honeymoon were rescued late Saturday in the unsubmerged part of the liner when firefighters heard their screams.
There are now six crew members and 11 passengers who haven't been located, Tuscany's regional president Enrico Rossi said. Two French tourists and a crew member from Peru died.
As confusion swirled over the cause of the dramatic accident, questions about ship safety, crew preparedness and evacuation procedures are roiling the waters of a booming industry that drew an estimated 16 million passengers last year. Italy's Costa, a mass-market line that caters to an international clientele, is owned by Miami-based Carnival Corporation, the world's largest cruise company.
The U.S. State Department says 125 Americans were on board, but there were no reports of injuries after the ship, in calm seas and good weather, struck an object and took on water from a 160-foot-long gash, causing the vessel to list and keel over.
We were crawling up a hallway, in the dark, with only the light from the life vest strobe flashing," her mother, Georgia Ananias, 61, said. "We could hear plates and dishes crashing, people slamming against walls."
She choked up as she recounted the moment when an Argentine couple handed her their 3-year-old daughter, unable to keep their balance as the ship lurched to the side and the family found themselves standing on a wall. "He said 'take my baby,'" Mrs. Ananias said, covering her mouth with her hand as she teared up. "I grabbed the baby. But then I was being pushed down. I didn't want the baby to fall down the stairs. I gave the baby back. I couldn't hold her.
"I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby," she said.
"I wonder where they are," daughter Valerie whispered.
The family said they were some of the last off the ship, forced to shimmy along a rope down the exposed side of the ship to a waiting rescue vessel below.
Some 30 people were reported injured, most of them suffering only bruises, but at least two people were reported in grave condition. Some passengers, apparently in panic, had jumped off the boat into the sea, witnesses said.
The evacuees were taking refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on Giglio.
Officials say the captain appears to have taken the vessel close to shore in a dangerous manner, Reuters said.
"There was a dangerous close approach which very probably caused the accident, although it will be for the investigation to establish that fully," coast guard spokesman Luciano Nicastro told SkyTG24. He said the captain then attempted a safety maneuver, setting anchor and bringing the ship closer to the shore to facilitate a rescue.
A top official from an international maritime union representing 23,000 workers says the disaster signals a need for a review of all cruise ships because their enormous size raises concerns about their safety.
"In this, the centenary of the loss of the Titanic, major nostalgia industry is already in full flow, but it is essential that everyone recognizes that the Titanic offers lessons for today and that there are contemporary resonances that should not be lost," says Mark Dickinson, general secretary of Nautilus International based in Britain.
In particular, he cited concerns about the size of modern cruise ships and the need for better evacuation plans.
"Many ships are now effectively small towns at sea, and the sheer number of people on board raises serious questions about evacuation," Dickinson said. "The growth in the size of such ships has also raised questions about their water-tight integrity and fire-fighting protection."
Costa defended the actions of the crew and says it is cooperating with the investigation.
The Concordia had a previous accident in Italian waters. In 2008, when strong winds buffeted Palermo, the cruise ship banged against the Sicilian port's dock, and suffered damage but no one was injured, ANSA said. In February 2010, another Costa ship, the Europa, hit a pier in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing three crew members.
Tags: Ship aground off Italy, Italy cruise ship, Giglio Italy, Eight deaths reported, Italy cruise ship Costa, Three dead, 40 missing, Costa Concordia, Costa Concordia disaster, Divers Search Costa Concordia, Third survivor heard, Cruise ship off Italy, Rescuers try to reach, Costa Concordia Cruise ship, Builders of the Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino Costa Concordia Captain, Owner of concordia
No comments:
Post a Comment