When the Costa Concordia, the massive Italian cruise liner that sunk Jan. 13, went down, over 4,200 passengers and crew were aboard. Thirty-two did not survive the tragedy but only 30 bodies have been recovered.
There is hope the two bodies still missing will be found, and found soon. The Italian news agency, Agenzia Italia (AGI) has been filing ongoing reports on the tragedy off the island of Giglio, and their latest suggests an area of the ship not yet searched may contain the missing bodies. Some areas of the ship, which lies half-submerged in the water, have not been easy, or safe, to access because they rest up against the rocky ledge the ship leans upon.
Costa Concordia balconies being checked for bodies
AGI reported that "targeted" checks of balconies on ship levels 6, 7 and 8 were done in the past few days but the bodies were not found. However, AGI adds that "the fire brigade and the state police will now have to check, from inside the ship, some cabins whose balconies can't be accessed, as they are located near the rock ledge the hull is resting on."
The last 5 bodies recovered, March 24, were under the ship and not inside the Costa Concordia, where the first 25 bodies were found. Smit Salvage, the Dutch company that safely removed the oil from the 17 tanks in March, have been removing debris from the ocean floor since early April and found no further bodies outside the ship. This suggests the bodies may be inside in areas not yet checked.
Meanwhile, the captain of the ship, Francesco Schettino, continues under house arrest in his home near Naples; Schettino faces multiple charges, including causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship. No date for a trial has yet been set.
0 comments:
Post a Comment