Costa Concordia cruise ship runs aground

The Costa Concordia luxury cruise ship overturned off the Tuscan Coast last Friday only two hours after it set sail. Four thousand people were on board when it was grounded.

Today five people have been confirmed dead and a further three survivors have been found, including a South Korean couple on their honeymoon. Forty people are yet unaccounted for and seventeen are thought to be missing.

Police divers and a flotilla of rescue crews are circling the wreckage off the island of Giglio in search of survivors. The ship had listed so quickly, it has made evacuation difficult and it is currently 20 metres submerged. Some of the lifeboats were put out of actions and some passengers were forced to jump from the ship.

It is thought that the cruise ship started taking on water after it hit a rocky reef.

The Captain francesco Schettino has been arrested on suspicion of causing deaths. Prosecutors say he left the ship before evacuation was complete. He defended himself today by saying "the problems were not detected by the navigation system. On the nautical chart the rocks were not shown and was shown as water".

The chief prosecutor in the city of Grosseto told reporters that Capt Schettino "very ineptly got close to Giglio", according to Italy's Ansa news agency.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague confirmed today that all British passengers and crew on board the ship were safe - 12 crew and 23 passengers.

Concerned family and friends of passengers who were on the ship are urged to call the Foreign Office on 0207 008 1500 or the British Embassy in Rome on (+39) 064 2200 001.

14 January 2012