Workers Restart Italian Cruise Ship Rescue Operations

Posted January 16th, 2012 at 11:20 am (UTC-5)
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Italian rescuers have resumed a search for survivors inside the wreck of a luxury liner that hit rocks and capsized off the coast of northern Italy.

The search restarted Monday afternoon, hours after the massive cruise ship Costa Concordia slipped on its rocky resting place in bad weather, sending divers fleeing to safety. Six people are known dead and at least 14 others remain missing as a result of the accident, which the ship's owners are blaming on human error by its captain.

Late Monday afternoon, the 290-meter-long Costa Concordia lay on its starboard side on a rocky shoal just off of Giglio Island.

The ship with more than 4,000 people on board ran aground late Friday. Survivors describe a chaotic and terrifying scene. Some say there was no organization, while others jumped into the sea and swam to shore.

In Genoa, meanwhile, a spokesman for ship owner Costa Crociere said the ship's captain was steering on an “unauthorized, unapproved” course before it became stuck. The spokesman said the captain had steered too close to shore and made decisions during the emergency that did not follow company procedures set by international standards. In comments late Sunday, the company did not specify what faulty decisions were made.

Ship captain Francesco Schettino is currently in police custody. Prosecutors say he could face charges of multiple homicide and abandoning the ship before all its passengers were rescued.

When the ship hit the rocks, officials say, passengers were instructed to put on life jackets and to board life rafts. However, those on board said the ship tilted so sharply and quickly that many lifeboats could not be lowered into the water.

The Costa Concordia is 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It has 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms. The ship and its operating company are a part of the Carnival Corporation.