Cruise Ship Accident As Costa Concordia Grounds in Giglio, Italy
Cruise ship accident as the Costa Concordia grounds near the island of Giglio, Italy.
There are 3 people who are confirmed dead and at least 50 people from the 4000 passengers aboard still missing. Most passengers had managed to escape the cruise ship accident via life boats or by swimming or the nearby shore.
Initial reports suggest the Costa Concordia hit a sandbar on a Friday evening and quickly listed to the side. It is now half submerged in the water.
The Costa Concordia is a $675 million cruise ship that had recently sailed from Rome on a Mediterranean cruise planning to eventually to dock at Marseilles. It never made it.
Passengers had sat down for dinner on Friday when there was a loud bang and everything went dark. The ship started to list and take in water, eventually settling at about 20 degrees.
Passengers were evacuated to nearby island Giglio where the population is a small 700. Suddenly looking after 4000 cold and frightened evacuees can’t have been easy for the tiny island.
There is no indication at the moment why the Costa Concordia ran aground. The coastguard speculated that it had just run too close to a reef but there was no official explanation.
The company who owns the Costa Concordia expressed gratitude to the coastguard, emergency services and everyone who helped evacuate after the cruise ship accident, but declined to speculate on what may have caused the Costa Concordia accident.
Photo: Accidental Hedonist
