ITALY: Helicopters ferry in divers to the capsized Costa Concordia as the search for survivors completes a six days

Record ID: 572955

  • Title: ITALY: Helicopters ferry in divers to the capsized Costa Concordia as the search for survivors completes a six days
  • Date: 20th January 2012
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
  • Embargoed: 4th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVA296H3FHPZAZ06Z1UUYCNHB9R1
  • Story Text: Search crews blasted holes into the wrecked Italian liner on Thursday (January 19, 2012) 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.
    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.
    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.
    After interrupting the search on Wednesday when rescuers feared the vast liner was shifting on its resting place, crews resumed their search at first light on Thursday.
    An expected worsening of weather conditions in the next few days has added extra pressure on the diving teams to complete their search of the vessel.
    Nothing was found in the morning during a search of the fourth deck, around an evacuation assembly point where seven of the bodies found so far were located but rescue workers continued operations after blasting new a way into the vessel.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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