Concordia investigation widens beyond ship’s Captain
Seven more Costa Cruises staff are now under investigation following the tragic incident on board Costa Concordia.
These include four Concordia officers and three Costa employees, including Roberto Ferrarini, head of the cruise company’s crisis unit.
According to reports in the Italian press, Ferrarini was on the phone with the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, on the night of the incident.
The seven are suspected of committing multiple manslaughter, shipwreck and failing to alert maritime authorities, but none have been charged, detained or arrested.
Capt. Schettino remains under house arrest on charges including manslaughter and shipwreck. Staff captain Ciro Ambrosio is also under investigation.
In a statement, Costa said: "We have complete faith in the judicial system and we have offered our fullest collaboration to the authorities from the very beginning.
"We have no doubt that (the) professionalism of our company, as well as the ability of our onboard and ashore people to cope with this extraordinary emergency, will be recognised."
The news comes as eight more bodies have been recovered from the wreck of the Costa Concordia, more than a month after it ran into rocks off the coast of Italy.
Italian media say the body of a five-year-old girl is among those believed to have been found in the submerged part of the ship.
Thirty-two people died in the disaster but until this week only 17 bodies had been recovered.
An official on the island of Giglio where the ship ran aground confirmed more bodies had been found but did not say how many, said the BBC.
by Bev Fearis and Linsey McNeill
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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