The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia on Sunday, January 16, 2012.
In their search for missing passengers, rescue teams have found five more bodies inside the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Italian coast.
“Scuba divers found five more bodies in the stern of the ship,” Giglio official Cristiano Pellegrini told reporters.
While at least 24 others remain missing, the official death toll now stands at 11.
The ship’s captain Francesco Schettino has been arrested on suspicion of causing the accident. The vessel’s First Officer has also been detained.
Accused of manslaughter and abandoning his vessel, Schettino is being questioned by judges for Friday’s accident.
A surfaced transcript of a conversation allegedly held between the captain and a port official suggests that he had left the ship before the passengers had managed to escape.
Reports indicate that over 60 people have been injured, and two are in critical condition.
The Costa Concordia, a 290-meter Italian cruise ship, was carrying approximately 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members when it hit a reef and started taking on water.
The vessel had set sail from the port of Civitavecchia near Rome and was on its way to Palermo. Divers are continuing to search the ship, which is lying on its side near the Tuscan island of Giglio. Press TV reported.
