Costa Concordia aground near Giglio
There were scenes of panic as the Costa Concordia hit a sandbar on the evening of Friday 13th January near the island of Giglio and listed about 20 degrees. People reached land by lifeboats but some swam ashore. Rescue teams went from cabin to cabin, searching for survivors.
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Created on 14 January 2012
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There were scenes of panic as the Costa Concordia hit a sandbar on the evening of Friday 13th January near the island of Giglio and listed about 20 degrees. People reached land by lifeboats but some swam ashore.
Rescue teams went from cabin to cabin, searching for survivors.
Three people are confirmed dead after a cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people ran aground off Italy.
Italians, Germans, French and Britons were among the 3,200 passengers. There were also 1,000 crew on board. Helicopters evacuated the last 50 people on the deck who were in a "worsening" situation. Three people were confirmed dead, Italian coast guard officials said on Saturday morning - fewer than the six or eight deaths reported by Italian media earlier.
The Costa Concordia had sailed earlier on Friday from Civitavecchia port near Rome for a Mediterranean cruise, due to dock in Marseille after calling at ports in Sicily, Sardinia and Spain.
Some passengers told how the crew had failed to give instructions on how to evacuate the ship. An evacuation drill was scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Some of the passengers had joked what if something had happened today? (Friday).
The 290-metre (950 ft) vessel ran aground, starting taking in water and listing by 20 degrees, the local coast guard said. Orders were given to abandon ship, Deodato Ordona, a cabin steward on the Costa Concordia, told reporters.
Once the search of the cabins above the waterline has been completed, scuba divers then checked the decks which were submerged by the crash.
Francesco Paolillo, a local coast guard official, told reporters there was a 30m hole in the ship but that it was too early to say what exactly had happened. "We think this happened as a result of sailing too close to an obstacle like a reef," he said.
Costa Concordia
- Entered service in 2006
- Built by Fincantieri in Italy at a cost of 450m euros (£372m; $570m)
- Capacity for 3,780 passengers
- 1,500 cabins, including 12 suites, five restaurants and 13 bars Four swimming pools and five Jacuzzi whirlpool baths
- A 6,000 sq m (64,600 sq ft) spa with gym, sauna, Turkish bath and solarium
- Sports pitch, cinema, theatre, casino and disco
Source: Costa Cruises and cruise industry websites
