FIVE MORE bodies have been found in the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia which ran aground off the Italian coast late on Friday night, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency.
The bodies bring the death toll to 11.
This morning the search resumed for 29 people who were unaccounted for.
The BBC has released an astonishing audio recording in which the captain of the stricken Costa Concordia is ordered to return to the listing ship because there are still people trapped on board.
In the recording, a person identifying themselves as the Livorno Port Authority tells Captain Francesco Schettino to take his lifeboat back to the ship, climb a ladder and then report back once he’s on board with an update of how many people are still on the vessel.
He said the captain should also provide information on what kind of assistance those remaining on board would need to evacuate the listing ship. Schettino responds saying that the ship is listing and it is dark.
“Get on board, that’s an order. You need to continue the rescue. You called the evacuation – now I’m in charge,” the port official responds, ordering the captain repeatedly to return to the Costa Concordia.
Schettino is being held on suspicion of manslaughter and is accused of abandoning the ship before the evacuation was completed. He denies any wrongdoing.
Over 4,200 people were on board the cruise ship when it struck rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio. Rescue teams this morning blew four holes in the ship’s hull for better access to parts of the ship which are submerged.
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