Costa Concordia ran aground

• Passengers tell of 'chaos' as crew members said 'go back to your cabins'
• Survivors leapt for their lives into the icy sea as the liner rolled onto its side
• Captain of the ship in custody with another crew member
• Boat was 'four miles off course' when it hit rocks
• Bodies of two French passengers and a Peruvian crewman recovered
• One victim, 65, died from heart attack following shock of cold water
• Liner had listed so badly 'lifeboats had difficulty being launched'
• 37 Britons on board but none believed to have died or been injured

Divers last night searching the Italian luxury cruise liner that capsized in the Mediterranean, pulled two people alive from the wreckage amid fears that more passengers were left trapped inside.
More than 4,000 people were rescued when the Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Tuscany on Friday, leaving two passengers and a crew member confirmed dead. But last night up to 40 people were still missing.
The Concordia’s captain, Francesco Schettino, and first officer Ciro Ambrosio were detained last night at the police station in Porto Santo Stefano on the Italian mainland, as they faced continuing questioning about the events leading up to the disaster. Prosecutors are investigating possible charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning the ship while passengers were still in danger.
Italian media reported that a man and a woman had been located alive on board the stricken ship. It is said the survivors were on the deck levels above the water line and a team of firefighters had been sent on board the vessel to rescue them.

Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia carrying more than 4,000 people ran aground and keeled over off the Italian coast near the island of Giglio in Tuscany, Italy, last night

 

Italian Coast Guard personnel recover the black box from the Costa Condordia cruise ship that ran aground off the west coast of Italy

 'It seemed just like the Titanic,' say survivors

Many passengers likened the tragedy to the sinking of the Titanic exactly a century ago.
Although the death toll from Friday’s accident was small in comparison to the 1,514 who perished when the doomed liner went down on April 15, 1912, there are many parallels.
As the Costa Concordia listed amid panicked cries, passengers in evening wear crawled along upended corridors, just as they did in 1912. Meanwhile, a small number of people, apparently unable to reach lifeboats, jumped in desperation into the cold night sea.
Questions about lifeboats were also raised by both disasters. The Titanic carried just 20 lifeboats – in line with regulations at the time – but that was enough for only about half the 2,223 people on board. And one of the chief complaints yesterday was that the crew delayed lowering lifeboats until the ship was listing too heavily for many of them to be released.
American passenger Valerie Ananias, 31, said the scenes on board were ‘exactly’ like those from the Hollywood film Titanic. ‘We were crawling up a hallway with only the light from the life vest flashing,’ added her 61-year-old mother Georgia. ‘We could hear dishes crashing and people slamming against walls.’

The Costa Concordia after the evacuation off the Itaiian coast had been completed. Tonight Captain Francesco Schettino was being quizzed by police

 

The cruise ship that ran aground is seen off the west coast of Italy as a helicopter hovers above to try and find passengers

The damage to the vessel can be seen quite clearly

Italian news agency Ansa said 4,165 out of the 4,234 people on-board were safe but did not know the whereabouts of the remaining 69

Lifeboats are pictured in the foreground. 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

The Concordia's grounding should serve as a wake-up call to the shipping industry and those who regulate it, the maritime professionals' union Nautilus International said

Passengers spoke of having to crawl along near vertical hallways and stairwells to escape the ship as it began to take on more and more water

Close-up: A woman looks at the cruise ship as it lies half in the water off the coast of Italy. Three people have been killed

Disaster: The Costa Concordia lies partly submerged this morning after hitting rocks. So passengers were rescued by helicopter

A woman is cared for by a rescue worker and a child is taken to safety. Thousands of people have been affected by the incident

Waiting game: A passenger took this photo of a group of passengers in life-jackets on board the liner as they waited to be rescued

Rescue workers help a woman as she is led to safety at Porto Santo Stefano. Lifeboats had difficulty launching

Passengers arrive at Porto Santo Stefano

The evacuees were taking refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on the tiny island of Giglio, a popular holiday isle about 18 miles off Italy's central west coast

A Carabinieri boat approaches the Costa Concordia as it lies partly submerged in the water off the coast of Tuscany

Collision: Rocks embedded in the ruptured side of the Costa Concordia reveal the extent of the damage to the hull

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086831/Costa-Concordia-accident-Pictures-cruise-ship-sinking-coast-Italy-Titanic-like-scene.html#ixzz1jVp6B3Po