ITALY: Anti-pollution teams collect debris from the stricken Costa Concordia which is littering the sea after heavy weather
Record ID:
333209
ITALY: Anti-pollution teams collect debris from the stricken Costa Concordia which is littering the sea after heavy weather
- Title: ITALY: Anti-pollution teams collect debris from the stricken Costa Concordia which is littering the sea after heavy weather
- Date: 2nd February 2012
- Summary: GIGLIO, ITALY (FEBRUARY 1, 2012) (REUTERS) CAPSIZED CRUISE SHIP COSTA CONCORDIA IN ROUGH SEA VARIOUS OF COAST GUARD COLLECTING ANTI-POLLUTION BOOMS WHICH HAVE BECOME UNATTACHED VARIOUS OF ANTI-POLLUTION BOATS GOING OUT TO SEA VARIOUS OF ANTI-POLLUTION BOATS DRAGGING THE BOOMS TO THE HARBOUR (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) GIGLIO MAYOR, SERGIO ORTELLI, SAYING "Despite sea conditions our anti-pollution strategy is working. Also the debris that has come out of the ship as a result of the wind and waves is being collected and will then be disposed of according to our protocol of operations." CONCORDIA WITH SMALL MATTRESS FLOATING IN WATER NEXT TO IT MATTRESS FLOATING PEOPLE COLLECTING BOOMS FROM WATER SEAT CUSHION FROM CONCORDIA FLOATING PEOPLE COLLECTING BOOMS FROM WATER WITH MATTRESS AND SEAT CUSHION FLOATING IN WATER FERRY DEPARTING FROM GIGLIO
- Embargoed: 17th February 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Italy, Italy
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Disasters
- Reuters ID: LVADIWFZO0DMI02KT0G59QMVURN8
- Story Text: Teams working to safeguard the Italian island of Giglio from possible pollution by the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia faced delays on Wednesday (February 1), with rough seas and wind stalling the rescue operation.
Gale force winds battered the wreck, with some of the panels from its glass roof breaking lose and pushing debris, including mattresses and cushions, into the sea and harbour.
Coast guards and anti-pollution teams worked to clear the area from oil booms which had become unattached from their anchors.
Giglio mayor Sergio Ortelli said that despite the bad weather, the anti-pollution strategy was working.
"The debris that has come out of the ship as a result of the wind and waves is being collected and will then be disposed of according to our protocol of operations," he said.
Salvage crews had hoped to start pumping more than 2,300 tonnes of diesel from the wreck this week but the bad weather has delayed the start of operations expected to take between three weeks and a month.
On Tuesday, Italian authorities ended the search for bodies in the submerged sections of the ship, more than two weeks after the giant cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan coast.
The civil protection authority said conditions on the wreck had made it impossible for divers to continue working safely in the underwater sections of the 290-metre long vessel.
Searching had been set to continue in other sections of the half-submerged ship and in waters up to 18 square kilometres around the vessel, where a number of objects have been spotted which investigators believe could turn out to be bodies.
A total of 17 bodies have been recovered since the accident on January 13. Fifteen people remain missing.
Ferry services to and from the island were suspended for several hours on Wednesday. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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