Cruise ship "Costa Concordia" apparently hit a shoal and began taking water off Italy's western coast, reports quoted rescue workers as saying late Friday.
(Reuters) - The captain of the Italian cruise ship which ran aground late on Friday appears to have taken the vessel very close to the shore in a dangerous manner, officials said on Saturday.
At least three people died in the disaster. The huge, 290 meter long vessel, carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, ran aground in shallow waters off the Tuscan island of Giglio but the exact circumstances of the incident remain unclear.
The situation worsened quickly. Officials said the evacuation became extremely difficult as the ship sunk and the inclination increased dramatically. According to Giuseppe Linardi—prefect of the city of Grosseto, in the Tuscany region—many panicking passengers jumped into the sea as the Costa Concordia started to quickly lean to the side. About 150 of those have already been rescued.One of the passengers was journalist Mara Parmegiani, who also described the situation referring to the Titanic. She said that some of the life jackets and the emergency lights weren't working. In addition to that, "there were problems deploying some of the evacuation boats, to the point in which [her] boat's pilot had to be substituted." Apparently, the crew wasn't completely prepared to take care of the situation.
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