Another body was found Tuesday, bringing the death toll in the Costa Concordia crash to 16. At least six of the bodies recovered in the Italian cruise ship disaster have yet to be identified and are presumed to be among the 17 still not accounted for.
The cruise ship struck a reef off the tiny island of Giglio on Jan. 13 when the captain deviated from the approved course. The ship ran aground and capsized, and thousands of passengers and crew were evacuated.
Search and rescue teams continued to look for the missing as salvage operations geared up to remove the half-million gallons of fuel still in the ship’s tanks. The siphoning of the oil was expected to get started Saturday and would coincide with continued search operations.
On Monday, officials and islanders reported an oily film on the water a few hundred yards from the cruise ship. Panels were placed in the water around the film to contain and absorb it.
Officials said the film didn’t present significant levels of toxicity to the protected waters around Giglio, part of a protected seven-island marine park that is home to abundant marine life.
The head of the national civil protection agency in Italy, Franco Gabrielli, said he asked the Concordia’s owner to come up with plans for the debris that’s floating away from the vessel and being hauled away daily by barge. The ship’s owner, Costa Crociere SpA, is part of Miami-based Carnival Corp.
Costa on Tuesday promised to give Concordia passengers a full refund of the cruise cost and on-board expenses, as well as reimbursement of travel and medical expenses.
The cruise ship injury attorneys at Maintenance and Cure represent crewmembers and passengers who have been injured in accidents on these types of vessels.
