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A South Korean honeymoon couple and an injured crew member were plucked from the partially submerged Costa Concordia shipwreck on Sunday, more than a day after the cruise ship met its doom close to Italy's Isola del Giglio, as rescue workers struggled to find any others still trapped on board.
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British Newlyweds Describe Surviving Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Sinking Watch Video
British Newlyweds Describe Surviving Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Sinking Watch Video
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Teams were painstakingly checking thousands of cabins on the Costa Concordia for people still unaccounted for after the huge vessel foundered and keeled over with more than 4,000 on board, killing at least three people and injuring 70.
The task is akin to searching a small town -- but one tilted on its side, largely in darkness, and partially submerged in freezing water. Scores of divers were taking part in the effort.
At about 1 p.m. local time, rescue workers airlifted Manrico Gianpetroni, chief purser, hours after making voice contact with him several decks below.
Gianpetroni, who had a broken leg, was lifted from the ship on a stretcher by a helicopter and taken directly to hospital. "I never lost hope of being saved. It was a 36-hour nightmare," he told reporters.
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After midnight, rescue workers had found the two South Koreans still alive in a cabin, after locating them from several decks above, and brought them ashore looking dazed but unharmed.
The captain of the luxury 114,500-tonne ship, Francesco Schettino, was under arrest and accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, and abandoning ship, Italian police said.
Comparing the disaster with the movie "Titanic," passengers told of people leaping into the sea and fighting over lifejackets in panic when the ship hit a rock and ran aground near the island of Giglio late on Friday.
Two French tourists and a Peruvian crew member were known to have died. There was confusion about the number of people still unaccounted for. The president of the Tuscan region said the number stood at 17, but other estimates were as high as 34.
The vast hulk of the 290-meter-long cruise ship, resting half-submerged on its side, loomed over the little port of Giglio, a picturesque island in a maritime nature reserve off the Tuscan coast. A large gash was visible in its side.
Rescue workers including specialist diving teams were working their way through the more than 2,000 cabins on the ship, a floating resort that boasted a huge spa, seven restaurants, bars, cinemas, and discotheques.
As the search continued, there were demands for explanations of why the vessel had come so close to the shore and bitter complaints about how long it took to evacuate the terrified passengers after the ship ran aground late on Friday.
State prosecutor Francesco Verusio said investigations might go beyond the captain.
"We are investigating the possible responsibility of other people who could be responsible for such a dangerous maneuver," he told SkyTG24 television. "The command systems did not function as they should have."
