Italy :Three dead and thousands evacuated as cruise ship runs aground

[Bangyai]

Three people were killed and thousands evacuated from a luxury cruise ship on Friday after it ran aground and began to sink off the coast of Italy.


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A number of The Concordia's life boats. The ship was carrying more than 4,000 people Photo: EPA



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The Costa Concordia after the cruise ship ran aground and keeled over off the Isola del Giglio Photo: AFP



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A police officer holds a baby wrapped in a blanket as passengers of the luxury ship Costa Concordia that ran aground off the coast of Tuscany arrive on a ferry in Porto Santo Stefano, Italy Photo: AP



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The Costa Concordia ran aground near the island of Giglio, off the Tuscan coast: it has been reported that six people have died and others are missing



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The Costa Concordia listing after running aground



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The Costa Concordia

By Roya Nikkhah

9:04AM GMT 14 Jan 2012


Holidaymakers from France, Italy, Germany and Britain were forced to flee the 1,500-cabin Costa Concordia in lifeboats when it hit a reef less than two hours after leaving port.

Some leapt overboard and swam to shore as the ship started to sink into the waters near the island of Giglio, off the Tuscan coast.

Captain Luciano Nicastro, the coast guard, and police official Giuseppe Lunardi said three people were confirmed dead, fewer than the six reported earlier by Italian media.

Pregnant women and young children were among the 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew on board.

Passengers' dinner on Friday night was interrupted by a loud boom at around 8pm and a voice over the loud-speaker system initially claimed that the ship was suffering an electrical failure, before ordering everyone on-board to don life-jackets.

"It was just like something out of the Titanic," one woman said. "You could tell straight away that the ship had hit something and no way was it an electrical fault."


Fabio Costa, who worked in a shop on the stricken cruise ship, said a number of people were jumping into the sea to swim ashore.
Describing the moment the boat began to list, he told the BBC: "All of a sudden we felt the boat hitting something and everything just started to fall, all the glasses broke and everybody started to panic and run.
"We could only feel that the boat had hit something, we had no idea how serious it was until we got out and we looked through the window and we saw the water getting closer and closer.
"Everything happened really, really fast and we saw the water coming in."
Mr Costa said that once the emergency alarm was set off people started to panic and push each other in a bid to get into lifeboats.
"A lot of people were falling down the stairs and were hurt because things fell on them," he added.
The worker said it took the crew a long time to launch the lifeboats as the vessel had listed so much.
He said: "We just saw a huge rock, that was probably where the ship hit, and people were having huge trouble trying to get on the lifeboats. So at that point we didn't know what to do so it took hours for people to get off the ship.
"It was easier for people to jump into the sea because we were on the same level as that water so some people pretty much just decided to swim as they were not able to get on the lifeboats."
Helicopters airlifted to safety around 50 people who were trapped on board.
The Costa Crociera company, which operates the seven-day Mediterranean cruise, said there were 1,000 Italians on the ships as well as 500 Germans and around 150 French people but could not confirm whether any Britons were among the evacuated.
The Foreign Office, which is sending a team to the scene, said that a few dozen British passengers are believed to have been on board.
A spokesman said: "We are in close contact with the local authorities and are working urgently to identify British nationals involved.
"A consular team from the British Embassy will shortly be in the area to provide consular assistance."
Philip Metcalf from Dorset described how his daughter Rose, a dancer and entertainer on the Costa Concordia, was brought to safety early this morning.
He said: "My phone rang just before three. I had a message from Rose telling me not to worry that she was OK but there had been a fire or something on board and she had been airlifted from near Tuscany.
"She said she had to wait a long time and that she was one of the last ones to be taken of, as she was staff. It sounds a bit like the Titanic. The boat seemed to have taken on water. I'm just so glad she's alright and she's one of the lucky ones."
Miss Metcalf posted a message on Facebook last night, saying: " My name is Rose, its Friday 13th and I'm one of the last survivors on board the sinking cruise liner off the coast of Italy. Pray for us to be rescued."
A local mayor on the island of Giglio said he was trying to find rooms to house the stranded people overnight.
The company said it was not clear what caused the fault and that an investigation was under way.
A spokesman said: "In this moment all our efforts are focused on the completion of the last emergency operations, besides providing assistance to the guests and the crew who were onboard.
"The company will fully co-operate with the relevant authorities in order to determine the causes of what happened."
The company said the evacuation of the ship started promptly, but the operation was hindered as the vessel started to list on one side.
The cruise ship had set off from the Civitavecchia port near Rome earlier on Friday and had been due to visit Palermo, Cagliari, Palma, Barcelona and Marseille.

Italian media reported that the ship had been involved in a previous accident in Italian waters in 2008, when strong winds around Palermo, the Sicilian capital, caused the ship to bang against the port's dock. The ship was reported to have suffered damage but nobody aboard was injured.
The ship is described on the firm’s website as “one of the biggest ships in the Costa fleet, a real floating temple of fun that will amaze you.”
Prices begin at around £400 but can exceed £1,200 for the first-class cabins.

Three confirmed dead and thousands evacuated as cruise ship runs aground off coast of Italy - Telegraph

[Neo]

You have to ask... how?

[watdog]

jesus what a mess.

[Katana]

It looks to have come too close to the headland. In this day and age unbelievable.

Mark

[harrybarracuda]

Three people have died and at least 50 more are missing after a cruise ship carrying thousands of passengers, including 24 British holidaymakers, ran aground off Italy's coast.

One of the victims was a man aged in his 70s who reportedly died of a heart attack caused by the shock of the icy water when he dove in during the chaos.
A major rescue operation was launched last night after the Costa Concordia began sinking near the island of Giglio, off the Tuscan coast.
Five helicopters plucked people to safety after they became trapped on the ship when it listed so badly they could not launch lifeboats.

It was just like something out of the Titanic. You could tell straight away that the ship had hit something and no way was it an electrical fault.

Passenger Mara Parmegiani
Divers were also called in to search the 290m-long sinking ship for missing passengers.
Officials confirmed three bodies had been retrieved from the sea and warned the death toll could rise.
A further 14 people were injured, mostly suffering bruises, they said. The Foreign Office said it had not heard whether any of the dead or injured were British.
A harbour master said the ship started taking on water after it "hit an obstacle" - rumoured to be a rocky reef - "ripping a gash 50m (160ft) across" on the left side.
Coastguard official Cmdr Francesco Paolillo said the cruise liner's captain responded by trying to steer the ship toward shallow waters near Giglio's small port to make the evacuation easier.
As the ship began to list heavily to one side, coastguards were immediately dispatched to the scene while terrified passengers were ordered to put on life vests and man lifeboats.
Ship Employee's Dad Tells Of Daughter's Rescue



Some people reportedly jumped into the cold waters in the scramble to escape.
Passenger Luciano Castro told Italian media of the horror that unfolded when the ship ran aground.
''We were having dinner when all of a sudden the lights went out," he said. "It seemed as if the ship struck something and then we heard a load bang and everything fell to the floor.
''The captain immediately came on the tannoy and said that there had been an electrical fault but it seemed very strange as the ship almost immediately began to list to one side. The glasses just slid off the table.
''We were then told to put on our life vests and head to the lifeboats just to be safe but there was a real panic onboard you could see it in the faces of the people especially those with young families.
''Then a few minutes later there were seven whistles which meant everyone had to get in the lifeboats.''

[Mr Lick]

I happened to be on a Mediterranean cruise ship (Italian) in 2001 cruising the Caribbean with the wife. An announcement was made to all passengers shortly after leaving the dock to go to the deck for a safety briefing.

1000's attended but no briefing! The ship also sailed through the most violent storm one could imagine shortly after leaving the Bahama's, which must have been very unnerving and the cause of much sickness amongst the majority of passengers.

It becomes difficult to have any confidence in cruise line companies safety procedures when such risks are being taken despite the crews claims that the boat is unsinkable. Needless to say, i haven't been back.

The Norfolk Broads for me!

[the dogcatcher]

sounds impossible doesn't it?

[BobR]

It'll be interesting to see what they do with the ship. Probably not that difficult to patch the hull, pump it out and refloat it, but who would want to sail on a death ship?

[HansuMan]

wowa, thatsa big aboata!

[Mid]

Probably not that difficult to patch the hull, pump it out and refloat it

close enough to impossible

[pickel]

It'll be interesting to see what they do with the ship.

I'm sure the Italians will think of something.

[BobR]

Probably not that difficult to patch the hull, pump it out and refloat it

close enough to impossible

Just curious why, I'm no engineer and know little about ships, but it does not seem like it would that difficult to patch it from the inside, pump the water out and float it somewhere safe for permanent repairs, especially compared to the cost of building a new ship?

[Marmite the Dog]

Probably not that difficult to patch the hull, pump it out and refloat it

close enough to impossible

Just curious why, I'm no engineer and know little about ships, but it does not seem like it would that difficult to patch it from the inside, pump the water out and float it somewhere safe for permanent repairs, especially compared to the cost of building a new ship?

Impossible (unless it's been under the sea for 90 years and is rusted to fuck).

[Takeovers]

I wondered that too. Surprising to me that the leak including that huge chunk of rock is above water. Why would the ship go down that way and not with the leak facing down?

The way the leak is exposed it looks easy enough to patch the hole even as huge as it is. At least given a long enough period with quiet seas. But it was also said the ship may go under completely. Fixing it under water would be more difficult, though not impossible, I would imagine. Welding under water in the shallows can be done.

[Sailing into trouble]

The boat hit a reef and kept moving. Various reasons damaged on both sides. Or captain tried to beach, boat has settled and fallen over. As to pumping out, it's on it's side half full of water, so very difficult.

[watdog]

Cruise line suggests "significant human error" - CBS News


cruise line cops. captain waffles.

[watdog]

[peterpan]

Just how does a disaster like this happen in this age of electronic navigation?

A similar "accident" to the one in NZ recently where a Liberian flagged container ship ran into a well documented reef causing thousands of millions of dollars of damage to property, ecology and local employment.

[watdog]

yet to be determined.

[Sailing into trouble]

Just how does a disaster like this happen in this age of electronic navigation?

real simple. Human error!

People screw up forget to push a button or hit a key on a computer screen

[Bangyai]

Just how does a disaster like this happen in this age of electronic navigation?

Simple. The captain wanted to wave at his friend on the shore .

" Look at me , look at me ! "


Cruise disaster: Captain 'neared Italian rocks to greet friend on shore’

The captain of the stricken cruise liner, Costa Concordia, was accused on Sunday night of deliberately steering the ship "too close" to a rocky shore in order to send a greeting signal to someone on the Italian island of Giglio.

Costa Concordia cruise liner captain Francesco Schettino is in custody Photo: REUTERS

By Nick Squires, Patrick Sawer and Martin Evans

11:06PM GMT 15 Jan 2012

Italian prosecutors claim Captain Francesco Schettino, 52, had approached the island's coastline in a "carelessly clumsy manner" in the moments before a catastrophic collision with an underwater rock formation that caused the ship to list violently and eventually capsize.

Owners of the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship said "preliminary indications" suggested the captain may have been guilty of "significant human error".

The owners added: "We are aware that the lead prosecutor has levelled serious accusations against the ship's Captain, who joined Costa Crociere in 2002 as a Safety Officer and was appointed Captain in 2006, after acting as Staff Captain as well.

The death toll from Friday night's disaster, one of the worst in the cruise industry's recent history, rose to five last night after rescuers discovered the bodies of two elderly men wearing life vests inside the vessel. A further 15 people remained missing.

On Sunday, the ship's Italian crew services manager, Manrico Giampetroni, was winched from the wreck by a helicopter after being trapped for 36 hours. A honeymoon couple were found alive and well in a cabin late on Saturday.

Prosecutors believe Mr Schettino had been intending to perform the nautical equivalent of a fly-by past the island's main port when the accident happened. It had apparently become a long-standing practice for the Costa Concordia to sail close to the island in order to greet its inhabitants with a siren from the ship.

The tradition appears to have begun when the wife of a former senior officer lived on the island and he would take the ship close to Giglio to greet her. There were reports last night that the vessel's current officers had a friend ashore, from the Italian merchant navy, that they wanted to salute in a similar manner.
As the ship approached the port from the south, it sailed too close to the coastline and struck a rocky reef, known to locals as "Le Scole", a few hundred yards out. Islanders said they had never seen the ship try to pass so close before. Ships usually pass by up to five miles away.
A 160ft gash was torn in the £370 million ship's hull, causing it to take on large quantities of water in minutes and list violently. The 4,200 passengers and crew were told to abandon ship.
Franco Verusio, the procurator of Grosseto who is leading the investigation, said: "Schettino approached the island of Giglio in a carelessly clumsy manner. The ship hit a reef which embedded itself in the left flank, the ship listed and took on lots of water in the space of two or three minutes. Captain Schettino was in command at that point. "He was the one who ordered that course to be taken, at least according to what we have discovered. There was someone in particular that wanted to be signalled from the ship."
Mr Schettino, who is being questioned on suspicion of multiple manslaughter, claimed yesterday that the reef had not appeared on the nautical charts and had not been picked up by the ship's navigation systems. "We should have had deep water beneath us," he said. "We were about 300 metres [1,000ft] from the rocks more or less."
Prosecutors also accused Mr Schettino of abandoning his ship "well before" the last of his passengers, a criminal offence that can carry a sentence of up to 12 years in jail. The captain denied this, insisting he was the last to leave.
The Concordia capsized after the captain tried to turn around and head into the island’s port in an apparent attempt to make it easier to evacuate.
Survivors, including 23 British passengers and 12 British crew members, claimed the evacuation effort was “chaos”. Mr Schettino’s lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, said his client’s manoeuvre had saved the lives of “several hundred people”. The rescue of the Korean honeymoon couple and Mr Giampetroni, who had a broken leg, gave hope to divers searching thousands of cabins for the missing. The ship’s “black box” navigation system is being examined — with officials saying that the vessel was up to four miles off course.

[Bangyai]

Rule number one.

1) Don't let old snooker players captain cruise ships when Steve Davis is on the beach.

[peterpan]

Just how does a disaster like this happen in this age of electronic navigation?

real simple. Human error!

People screw up forget to push a button or hit a key on a computer screen

Wrong ! the captain of the was show boating and obviously brain dead before he commenced his career, Vessels of this size have navigation masters.
Just wondering, why the NM didn't raise the alarm when when the vessel was approx 4 KM off course. I suspect that carnival have serious responsibility for allowing have faulty procedures,

[aging one]

suspect that carnival have serious responsibility for allowing have faulty procedures, __________________

Not Carnival mate, Costa Cruise lines out of Italy.

[peterpan]

^ yr right, I had the mistaken belief that it was on a dry hire to carnival.

Old age and alcohol, not a good Mix AO