Giglio (Italy), Jan 14, 2012 (SPS) - At least eight people were killed and more than 4,000 passengers and crew were rescued last night after a packed cruise liner began capsizing off the Italian coast after running aground.
Costa Concordia had left port at 7pm for a seven-day Mediterranean Cruise - but within two hours of leaving port, it ran aground in the sea with a major electrical fault while passengers were having dinner.
Coastguards were immediately dispatched to the scene near the island of Giglio, off the Tuscan coast.
At least three bodies have been recovered from the sea although earlier estimates suggested eight were dead.
Terrified passengers were ordered to put on life vests and man life boats as the 850ft-long luxury floating palace, which costs up to £1,200 a night, began to list heavily to one side.
Helicopters plucked to safety some 50 people who were trapped on the liner listed so badly they couldn't launch lifeboat.
The identities of the dead have not yet been released. A report released by the Messaggero newspaper said at least 30 people sustained injuries, with several of them serious.
Among the dead was a man around age 65, who officials believe may not have been able to withstand the cold of the sea at night.
It is thought that the death toll may still rise and there are believed to be at least three other unconfirmed fatalities.
'We were having dinner aboard when we heard a loud noise, like that of the keel being dragged over something,' passenger Luciano Castro told Italian state radio.
The lights went out 'and there were scenes of panic, glasses falling to the floor,' he said.
Another passenger Mara Parmegiani said 'it was like a scene from the Titanic.'
The evacuees were taking refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on the tiny island of Giglio, a popular holidau isle about 18 miles off Italy's central west coast.
Those evacuated by helicopter were flown to Grosseto, while others, rescued by local ferries pressed into emergency service, took survivors to the port of Porto Santo Stefano on the nearby mainland.
'It was terrible,' Hammer said, as German and Spanish tourists were about to board buses at the port.
Coast Guard Commander Francesco Paolillo said Most of the 30 people injured suffered just bruises but at least two people were reported to be in a serious condition.
A statement in the early hours from Costa Cruises, the company that runs the ship, confirmed that the evacuation of the 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew had begun, 'but the position of the ship, which is worsening, is making more difficult the last part of the evacuation.'
Costa Cruises' statement did not mention any casualties, and said it had not yet determined the cause of the problem.
Costa Cruises said the Costa Concordia was sailing on a cruise across the Mediterranean Sea, starting from Civitavecchia with scheduled calls to Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo.
It said about 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, about 160 French and about 1,000 crew members.
Source: Arab News Agency