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31 Jan 2012 10:10

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World: With some still missing, authorities call off search in Costa Concordia wreck

  • 17 bodies recovered from the deadly Costa Concordia wreck near Italy earlier this month
  • 15 people are still missing; authorities have notified next-of-kin that they’ve called off the search source
  • » What’s the punishment? Costa Crociere, the Italian unit of Carnival Cruise Lines, will pay €11,000 ($14,500) for each person on the ship, and will still face civil suits from individual passengers affected by the January 13 incident. The lawyer who helped overturn the murder conviction of Raffaele Sollecito (Amanda Knox’s boyfriend), plans to file a criminal complaint on behalf of the people affected by the crash. Meanwhile, Francesco Schettino, the captain who allegedly caused the wreck and abandoned the ship, remains under house arrest.

18 Jan 2012 21:42

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World: Captain of crashed Costa Condoria under heavy scrutiny

  • The burden of command: In the last few days, as more and more information has trickled out regarding the sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the coast of Italy, more and more public criticism has been leveled at the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino. Schettino was captured on audio hesitant to leave a lifeboat he’d escaped to and return to his sinking ship to coordinate passenger rescues, even as a coast guard officer ordered him to do so. Now, four days into the aftermath, and Schettino has offered up a new explanation; he “tripped” into the lifeboat in the midst of a mad dash by passengers towards the escape vessels. source

14 Jan 2012 10:54

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World: Like a scene from Titanic: Deadly Costa Concordia cruise ship crash

  • “Have you seen ‘Titanic?’ That’s exactly what it was.” The Italian cruiseliner that went aground near the coast of Tuscany on Friday evoked a deadly situation that, to say the least, harkened back to that fateful incident. The Costa Concordia crashed on the tiny island of Giglio, forcing a tip-over that killed three and left nearly 70 others unaccounted for. The ship had a very chaotic, disorganized evacuation — putting roughly 4,200 people in danger — partly because the crew delayed the evacuation drill until days after the cruiseliner started moving. The ship was supposed to have an evacuation drill on Saturday, despite the fact that some had been on the ship for several days. source