words by Mark Trevor Collinson
While most of Europe was enjoying their Friday night, disaster was unfolding off the coast of Giglio. Italy. The Italian Cruise liner the Costa Concordia had reportedly “run aground” approximately 400 metres from the coast line, and as the ship began to take on water at an alarming rate, the order was given to abandon ship.
The Concordia, with more than 4000 passengers on- board, had left Civitavecchia port near Rome on Friday morning and was on route to Marseille, with stops in Sicily and Sardinia, when disaster struck the £372 million pounds cruise liner.
Many of its passengers were having dinner when the lights briefly went out at around 10: 30pm before the full extent of situation was realised and the evacuation was started a short time later. In the chaos that ensued many of the passengers jumped from the ship and attempted to swim to shore: rather than awaiting rescue on deck.
As I write this terrible scenes are coming the TV set. Already the eyes of the world are looking for someone to blame. Mr Francesco Schettino , the ship’s Captain, has already been arrested: accused of “multiple manslaughter.”
It’s still not clear whether it was human or mechanical error that caused the disaster. Captain Schettino has already voiced his opinion that the rocks beneath the water’s surface, on which Concordia struck, were incorrectly plotted on local navel charts.
Six persons have already been confirmed dead with many still missing. Emergency divers, helicopters and land teams have been working around the clock to recover anyone who may still be trapped inside the ship, but as time goes on finding more survivors looks less likely.
Whatever the outcome in the coming days, months and years, right now, Italy is a country that has been shaken to the core by a disaster of the Concordia on 13th January 2012.
A new appraisal for shipping safety guidelines will surely be called for in the coming months, but right now the thoughts of the world are with the survivors, the friends and families who were involved in tragedy that surely should never have happened in the 21st Century.
