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| The liner lies on its side after running aground: It is likely to remain that way for months |
Five more bodies have been found in the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which struck a reef off the coast of Italy in January.
Thousands of
people were evacuated in the tragedy on January 13 off the coast of Italy.And survivors
described chaotic scenes like the 1912 Titanic disaster - re-created by
Hollywood director James Cameron in 1997.
One Italian
passenger, who gave her name only as Silvano, said: "There was just
complete and utter chaos and panic.
"No-one from
the crew seemed to know what they were doing. It was just like something from
the Titanic.
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| The stricken ship is seen sinking as lifeboats are lowered into the water |
She added:
"Some of the crew were telling us to go back to our cabins while others
were saying go to the lifeboats - it was obvious we were in serious trouble
because we heard a terrible scraping noise, the lights flickered and then came
back on again.
"At first,
there was a message to say it was an electrical fault but almost immediately
the ship started to lean to one side and you could tell we were in serious
trouble.
"We were in
the restaurant and everything just started sliding off the tables.
"We couldn't
believe our eyes. There was just utter chaos. People were rushing about and
pushing each other in a panic."
The passenger went
on: "Children were crying and no-one seemed to know what was happening.
"We got into
a lifeboat and were taken to Giglio but even there things were not much better
as no-one gave us a hot drink or a blanket for ages."
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| The cruise liner tilts to the side as frantic passengers are evacuated in lifeboats |
The tragedy has so
far claimed 16 lives with at least another 16 people missing.
The captain,
Francesco Schettino, is currently under house arrest after he steered his
114,000-ton ship onto rocks close to the island of Giglio, allegedly in a
''sail by'' salute.
The discovery
raises to 30 the number of bodies recovered. Two people remain missing and are
presumed dead.
News of three
bodies was revealed by Franco Gabrielli, the head of the Civil Protection
agency who is in charge of search and salvage operations.
It later emerged
two more bodies had been found by divers.
Mr Gabrielli was
speaking during a visit to the Tuscan island of Giglio, where the Concordia ran
aground with over 4,000 passengers and crew on board.
The accident
happened during dinner just a few hours after the liner had left port.
It began listing
almost immediately, causing passengers to panic and scramble for the lifeboats.
The order to
evacuate was not given for about an hour and some passengers jumped overboard
when several of the lifeboats could not be deployed,
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| The Titanic scenes were re-created in a Hollywood film in 1997 |
The Costa Concordia's
captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest at his home near Naples
while he is investigated for alleged manslaughter and abandoning his ship.
His first officer
Ciro Ambrosio and two other crew members have also been placed under formal investigation,
along with three officials from owners Costa Cruises.
The company was in
the headlines again about a month later when another of its liners, the Costa
Allegra, suffered an engine room fire and lost all power.
The ship had to be
towed to port in the Seychelles where its passengers disembarked.
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