Cruise Ship Sinking In Italy

The 984-foot-long cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground on the island of Giglio, Italy, killing at least three people. More than 4,000 people have been evacuated, but 50 are still missing. The night photos remind everyone of the sinking Titanic.

The accident didn't involve an iceberg, but it sounds pretty similar: passengers heard a loud crash sound during dinner. At first, the captain told them that the ship had an electrical problem but the evacuation started almost immediately after that, as they were ordered to put on their life jackets and walk to their emergency rafts.

The situation worsened quickly. Officials said the evacuation became extremely difficult as the ship sunk and the inclination increased dramatically. According to Giuseppe Linardi—prefect of the city of Grosseto, in the Tuscany region—many panicking passengers jumped into the sea as the Costa Concordia started to quickly lean to the side. About 150 of those have already been rescued.

Talking to local media, a passenger described the scene: "it was a nightmare, if felt like the Titanic, we thought we were going to die [...] people shouting and kids crying in the middle of the most absolute darkness."


Some passengers said the evacuation was really slow, taking an hour and a half between the impact and the time they left the ship. They pointed out that some of the crew members told them that the captain knew the situation was grave, but he didn't act accordingly.

4,179 people have been accounted, 14 of them injured. There were a total of 4,229 registered passengers and crew members in the ship, which was cruising through the Mediterranean. According to the manufacturer, the Costa Concordia can hold 3,780 passengers and 1,100 crew members. The city prefect says they are searching frantically for the missing people.

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Update: The ship's captain—who left the ship two hours after the accident—has been arrested by the Italian police under charges of involuntary manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning ship. According to Grosseto's chief prosecutor, Francesco Verusio, "the captain approximated Giglio clumsily, hitting a rock on its left side, making the ship to lean, which caused a large amount of water to enter the hull in just two or three minutes." 








[Via: Gizmodo]