Seeking Answers in Shipwreck in Italy

21 January 2012

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

The wreck of the cruise ship Costa Concordia in Italy comes just before the one hundredth anniversary of a much worse disaster at sea. This April will mark a century since the wreck of the Titanic. The Titanic was the biggest cruise ship of its time. It struck an iceberg on its way from England to New York. The ship was carrying more than two thousand people. Most of them died.

The sinking of the Titanic not only led to major motion pictures. The Titanic disaster led to new requirements including safety training for passengers within twenty-four hours of sailing. The passengers on the Concordia had been at sea for just a few hours when it struck rocks off Italy's northwestern coast last Friday night. Their safety training had been planned for the next day.

The cruise ship ran aground off the west coast of ItalyPassengers say the ship turned onto its side so quickly that many lifeboats could not be lowered into the water. Passengers were sitting down to late dinner when the ship hits rocks. They were told the ship was having electrical problems. Some said there was no organization among the crew during the crisis. Some people jumped into the cold sea and swam toward land.

There were four thousand two hundred passengers and crew members on the ship. Rescuers used lifeboats and helicopters to take most of them to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland. Officials said at least twelve people died and twenty others were missing.