ITALY: Rescue teams say they are working non-stop to recover bodies from the wreckage of the Costa Concordia ship which capsized off the Italian island of Giglio

Record ID: 572954

  • Title: ITALY: Rescue teams say they are working non-stop to recover bodies from the wreckage of the Costa Concordia ship which capsized off the Italian island of Giglio
  • Date: 20th January 2012
  • Summary: GIGLIO, ITALY (JANUARY 19, 2012) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) RESCUE SUPPORT BOAT IN FRONT OF WRECK LIGHTING UP SHIP COAST GUARD BOAT IN FRONT OF UPPER DECK OF SHIP (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) SPOKESMAN FOR FIREFIGHTERS UNITS, LUCA CARI, SAYING: "Today used in another way of entering the boat from the top. Until now, we've tried to get in from the sea side but because we are worried about the bad weather coming, we tried this other method. In this case, even if the bad weather should make it impossible to come in from the sea side, we still can enter from the coastal side." RESCUERS ON JET-SKI (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) SPOKESMAN FOR FIREFIGHTERS UNITS, LUCA CARI, SAYING: "This operation will continue for quite a while from the top side we have already inspected the situation. Now the rescuers can enter the wet area of the wreck. This area is quite large and it is very complicated to get in there. It is hard to predict how long this operation will last. We keep working non-stop even during the night. COAST GUARD SHIP (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) SPOKESMAN FOR FIREFIGHTERS UNITS, LUCA CARI, SAYING: "We have a system of monitoring the situation that gave allowed us to continue the operation today. The position of the ship is not stable and still precarious. It is very important to constantly monitor the situation whenever something happens we will stop immediately. WIDE OF RESCUE OPERATION AROUND WRECK
  • Embargoed: 4th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVAE0XNX7FSOBR5QXB3DIUZUKC96
  • Story Text: Italian rescue crews worked into Thursday (January 19, 2012) evening that to recover bodies from the capsized Costa Concordia cruise liner.
    Search crews blasted holes into the wrecked Italian liner on Thursday to allow divers to continue a search for bodies, with time running out before the weather turns and salvage crews need to start pumping out the fuel tanks.
    A spokesperson for the firefighter unit said that rescuers had now started entering the ship from the top.
    "Until now, we've tried to get in from the sea side but because we are worried about the bad weather coming, we tried this other method. In this case, even if the bad weather should make it impossible to come in from the sea side, we still can enter from the coastal side," Luca Cari said, adding that they would now focus their efforts on the submerged, or wet area of the ship.
    Six days after the 114,500 tonne Costa Concordia capsized off the Tuscan coast, hopes of finding anyone alive on the partially submerged hulk have all but disappeared and the cold waters around the ship have become noticeably rougher.
    "We have a system of monitoring the situation that gave allowed us to continue the operation today. The position of the ship is not stable and still precarious. It is very important to constantly monitor the situation whenever something happens we will stop immediately," Cari said.
    One of the specialist diving crews said on Thursday the available window could be as small as 12-24 hours although the chief spokesman of the rescue services denied that any deadline had been set and said the situation was still evolving.
    Eleven people are known to have died out of more than 4,200 passengers and crew aboard when the ship struck a rock just metres from the shoreline, tearing a large gash in the side of the hull. As many as 24 are still unaccounted for. Two French passengers were identified among the dead on Thursday.
    END
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register