[jogiba]

"Have you seen 'Titanic?' That's exactly what it was," said Valerie Ananias, 31, a schoolteacher from Los Angeles who was traveling with her sister and parents on the first of two cruises around the Mediterranean.

"We were crawling up a hallway, in the dark, with only the light from the life vest strobe flashing," said her mother, Georgia Ananias, 61. "We could hear plates and dishes crashing, people slamming against walls."

She choked up as she recounted the moment when an Argentine couple handed her their 3-year-old daughter, unable to keep their balance as the ship lurched to the side and the family found themselves standing on a wall. "He said 'take my baby,' " Mrs. Ananias said. "I grabbed the baby. But then I was being pushed down. I didn't want the baby to fall down the stairs. I gave the baby back. I couldn't hold her.

"I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby," she said.

Cruise Accident Survivors Describe Scene Like 'Titanic' - WSJ.com

[Andrew Lang]

that looks crazy, my prayers are for the people still missing

[jogiba]

Italian Coast guard personnel recover the "black box" of the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia.

[Don From The Radio]

As someone with more than a passing interest in all things nautical, I can't see how a crew that cruises the same route every week could run a ship of that size aground. It seems to be happening more often than it used to as well. Of course usually they don't sink, but it's always a big problem when a ship runs aground.

[Ratmagiclady]

This is definitely a story the radio didn't really do justice, to see the photos.

[Nass]

Don, I wonder that too. I suspect it's the same as the Exxon Valdiz, guy in charge drunk as hell

[Don From The Radio]

Don, I wonder that too. I suspect it's the same as the Exxon Valdiz, guy in charge drunk as hell

They were so close to land, I'm wondering if there was a pilot on board. I suppose since it was a routine cruise, they may have had a newbie junior officer at the helm. Costa is owned by Carnival, who also uses mostly Italian officers, so I'm going to guess they have the same bridge procedures. This isn't a fly-by-night operation, which makes it even more mind boggling.

[Rupert]

Cruise ships, built for pleasure and comfort...and warm water sailing usually have thin hulls, so avoiding reefs is of the utmost importance. Could be the Captain of the Valdez was trying out for a new job?
Regards!

[jogiba]

As someone with more than a passing interest in all things nautical, I can't see how a crew that cruises the same route every week could run a ship of that size aground. It seems to be happening more often than it used to as well. Of course usually they don't sink, but it's always a big problem when a ship runs aground.

"The captain of the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia now faces charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship, which was two and a half miles off course, according to the Italian Coast Guard."

Captain of luxury cruise ship faces charges


Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia, is taken into custody in Grosseto, Italy, on Saturday.

[jogiba]

Divers searching for missing passengers and crew from the capsized Italian cruise ship found two more bodies on Sunday but are facing dangerous obstacles themselves.

The vessel could suddenly move and sink into deeper waters, and floating objects inside the ship as well as muck are hindering divers.

"There are tents, mattresses, other objects moving which can get tangled in the divers' equipment," Italian Coast Guard Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro said Sunday.

Officials were going to huddle soon to see how long the underwater search could safely continue, he said.

In order to find their way out, divers are using a long cord they hook near the point of entrance and unroll as they work.

Three people have been found alive after most of the 4,200 passengers and crew escaped on life boats, fishing boats and even swimming to shore, but 5 are confirmed dead and 15 more are missing.

Two more bodies were recovered from the capsized Italian cruise ship, raising the official death toll to 5, as investigators looked into accusations that the captain abandoned ship early.

The bodies of two elderly men still in their life jackets were recovered by divers at the emergency gathering point near a restaurant area. Fifteen people are still unaccounted for. Two of those are U.S. citizens, the U.S. Embassy in Rome said.

Two survivors of the Italian cruise ship that hit a reef are among those who said the captain abandoned ship early. A prosecutor earlier said he's investigating those allegations.

Ophelie Gondelle and David Du Pays of Marseille, France, said they saw the captain in a lifeboat, covered by a blanket, well before all the passengers were off the ship. They insisted on telling a reporter what they saw, so incensed that — according to them — the captain had abandoned the ship before everyone had been evacuated.

"The commander left before and was on the dock before everyone was off," said Gondelle, 28, a French military officer.

"Normally the commander should leave at the end," said Du Pays, a police officer who said he helped an injured passenger to a rescue boat. "I did what I could."

Overhead Bin - Divers find 2 more bodies in cruise ship, face danger themselves

[jolepp]

Shipping experts say they are puzzled as to why such a modern and well-equipped vessel should have run aground in well-charted waters.

The £300m ($460m) ship had been travelling in calm seas, along a familiar route.

How it came to deviate from its course by 3-4 nautical miles - and why it capsized so quickly - will be central for investigators trying to establish the cause of the accident.

The investigation will focus on why a modern ship, with the latest safety equipment, travelling on the same route it travels 52 times every year, seemingly veered off course and hit what the cruise company has described as "a big rock".
...

BBC News - Costa Concordia probe to try to find cause of disaster

The ship "capsizing quickly" might not be a much of a mystery given that huge tear on her hull (tens of meters in length with "a big rock" stuck at the end, probably spanning several of the internal compartments ?)

[Don From The Radio]

Cruise ships, built for pleasure and comfort...and warm water sailing usually have thin hulls, so avoiding reefs is of the utmost importance. Could be the Captain of the Valdez was trying out for a new job?
Regards!

They're also flat bottomed, top heavy, and will roll over in a second if they take on any real amount of water. I'm not surprised the thing capsized, I'm surprised it hit a reef in the first place. It's unbelievable in this day and age.

[jolepp]

Some footage showing the wreck / gash: BBC News - Italy cruise ship: Large gash visible on vessel's side

[jogiba]

For this modern cruise ship (built in 2006) with over 4,200 passengers to be that far off course in clear weather only 1,000 ft from shore is like an Airbus A380 jumbo jet missing the runway when landing. This is going to cost the company Costa Cruises $1 billion at least .

The boss of the Italian cruise company which owns the ship which ran ground off the Italian coast has apologised for the tragedy.

Costa Cruises chief executive Pier Luigi Foschi said his company would provide the captain of the Costa Concordia, who has been arrested, with legal support.

But he could not deny that "human error" seemed to have been a significant factor in the accident.

BBC News - Costa Concordia owners 'can't deny human error'

[pickles]

Some-one obviously made a boo-boo......Look how close to the shore that ship is.......rock or no rock.....that ship should not have been that close to land.
Cheers, Pickles.