Maps and graphics of the disaster
The stricken cruise ship as seen from space
At least 11 people died and 24 are missing after the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground with more than 4,000 passengers and crew on 13 January, only hours after leaving the Italian port of Civitavecchia. The maps and graphics below reveal details about the vessel and its ill-fated journey.
At 9:30pm (2030 GMT), two and a half hours after leaving the port of Civitavecchia, the Costa Concordia hit a rocky outcrop as it sailed past the island of Giglio.
As the ship took on water, the captain tried to turn it towards the island’s port, but the ship started to tilt and sink.
At 10:10pm, the abandon ship signal was given. Most passengers escaped in lifeboats, but evacuation efforts were hampered by the angle of the tilting ship and others were winched to safety by helicopter.
The rescue continued over the weekend, with the ship’s safety officer, Marrico Giampietroni, being discovered and evacuated with a broken leg at 12:00pm on Sunday. A South Korean couple were also rescued. The search continues for the missing.
A recording has been released in which the coastguard is heard ordering the captain to ‘get back on board’
Captain Francesco Schettino, now under arrest on suspicion of manslaughter, said the rocks were not marked on maps and were not detected by navigation systems.
But the ship’s owners, Costa Cruises, said the captain had made an “unapproved, unauthorised” deviation in course, sailing too close to the island in order to show the ship to locals.
Automatic tracking systems show the route of the Costa Concordia until it ran aground on 13 January. Data from 14 August last year shows the ship followed a similar course close to the shoreline, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence. On 6 January this year, it passed through the same strait but sailed much further from the island.
Investigators have recovered the “black box” system similar to those used by aircraft, that record voices on the bridge, as well as radar position and other data, which they hope will explain how the incident happened.
Divers have been searching the ship as it rests on the seabed in about 20m of water. The operation has been suspended a number of times as the ship has shifted position. The sea floor eventually drops to about 100m.
PHOTOS OF COSTA CONCORDIA ACCIDENT (click on photos to enlarge)
The Costa Concordia entered service in 2006 and made regular trips around the Mediterranean. On 13 January, it had been due to take passengers on an eight-day cruise, docking in French, Spanish and Italian ports.
Source: BBC News
