Cruise ship rescue effort suspended as wreck shifts
Source: Agencies |
January 19, 2012, Thursday
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ITALIAN rescue workers suspended operations yesterday after a stricken cruise ship shifted slightly on the rocks near the Tuscan coast, creating deep concerns about the safety of divers and firefighters searching for passengers and crew still missing.
The US$450 million Costa Concordia cruise ship was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it slammed into the reef Friday off the tiny Italian island of Giglio after the captain made an unauthorized maneuver.
The death toll stands at 11, and none of the dead have been identified so far.
On Tuesday, Italian authorities released the names of 24 passengers and 4 crew still missing. They included 13 Germans, six Italians, four French, two Americans and one person each from Hungary, India and Peru.
Italian authorities said this figure included five bodies recovered on Tuesday.
Instruments attached to the ship detected the movements early yesterday even though firefighters who spent the night searching the area above water for the missing could not detect any movement.
"As a precautionary measure, we stopped the operations this morning," said a coast guard spokesman.
By late afternoon, officials still did not have enough data to reassure them that the ship had stopped resettling.
The latest victims were found after navy divers exploded holes in the hull of the ship to allow easier access.
Premier Mario Monti offered his first comment on the disaster Wednesday, telling a press conference in London that it "could and should" have been avoided.
Meanwhile, much focus has been on the ship captain's actions, amid claims that he fled the ship.
Francesco Schettino, jailed since the accident, appeared before a judge in Grosseto on Tuesday where he was questioned for three hours.
The judge ordered him held under house arrest.
The US$450 million Costa Concordia cruise ship was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it slammed into the reef Friday off the tiny Italian island of Giglio after the captain made an unauthorized maneuver.
The death toll stands at 11, and none of the dead have been identified so far.
On Tuesday, Italian authorities released the names of 24 passengers and 4 crew still missing. They included 13 Germans, six Italians, four French, two Americans and one person each from Hungary, India and Peru.
Italian authorities said this figure included five bodies recovered on Tuesday.
Instruments attached to the ship detected the movements early yesterday even though firefighters who spent the night searching the area above water for the missing could not detect any movement.
"As a precautionary measure, we stopped the operations this morning," said a coast guard spokesman.
By late afternoon, officials still did not have enough data to reassure them that the ship had stopped resettling.
The latest victims were found after navy divers exploded holes in the hull of the ship to allow easier access.
Premier Mario Monti offered his first comment on the disaster Wednesday, telling a press conference in London that it "could and should" have been avoided.
Meanwhile, much focus has been on the ship captain's actions, amid claims that he fled the ship.
Francesco Schettino, jailed since the accident, appeared before a judge in Grosseto on Tuesday where he was questioned for three hours.
The judge ordered him held under house arrest.
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