Fears Grow For Concordia Missing

The damage to the body of the ship is clearly visible under water

Divers have been venturing into the half-submerged vessel in order to search its hundreds of cabins and other rooms for survivors. They found the body of the sixth victim early on Monday.

A coastguard makes his way carefully through the debris

The huge rock still protrudes from the hull of the ship

 

The vessel lies fifty metres from the shores of Giglio. All of the ship which lies above the water has been searched

Italian firefighters have been working under extremely dangerous conditions

Cruise disaster :....Emergency crews are working through the night around the wreck of a stricken cruise ship, but fears are growing for the 29 people still missing.

Six people are known to have died after the Costa Concordia crashed into rocks off Italy's west coast on Friday night. But local coast guard chief Marco Brusco said there was still a "glimmer of hope" that survivors could be found. The missing are thought to include four crew members, as well as passengers from the US, Germany, France and Italy.

The ship's owners have blamed the captain for Friday's crash, saying he changed course towards an island. Meanwhile, Italy says it will declare a state of emergency over the incident, and provide funding to help avert any environmental disaster. The Italian environment minister said liquid was leaking from the ship, but it was unclear if it was fuel.

The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, has been detained on suspicion of manslaughter and a judge is due to decide on Tuesday whether the 52-year-old should continue to be held. On Monday, the Costa Concordia's owners, Costa Cruises, said Capt Schettino hit the rocks because he deliberately steered the ship towards to Giglo Island.

A transcript purportedly of conversations between the captain and the coastguard has emerged in the Italian media - apparently drawn from one of the ship's black box recorders - which appears to corroborate the claims that the captain left the ship before the all passengers escaped.

The ship, carrying 4,200 passengers and crew, had its hull ripped through when it hit rocks late on Friday. Some people were forced to swim for land as the angle of the ship made boarding lifeboats impossible. German media have reported that 12 German passengers are still missing, and US officials have appealed for information about two Americans - Jerry Heil, 69, and his wife Barbara, 70, from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Six Italians, two French couples and a Peruvian are also reported to be unaccounted for.