UPDATE: Concordia death toll rises to 11
Five more bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of the submerged Costa Concordia, according to the BBC, bringing the death toll so far to 11.
The bodies were found in a flooded section of the 4,200-passenger vessel, which sank off the coast of Italy on Friday. Twenty-four people are still missing.
Reports say rescue workers, who worked through the night to search for survivors, have combed all the areas of the ship still above the water-line, leading to Tfears that those who are missing are in submerged areas of the ship and therefore unlikely to be found alive.
Local coastguard Marco Brusco told the BBC there was only a glimmer of hope that more survivors would be found.
All 35 Britons who were amongst the 4,200 passengers aboard the vessel when it crashed into rocks off Italy’s west coast on Friday, just two hours into a seven-night cruise, are believed to be safe. Those missing include passengers and crew from the US, Germany, France, Italy and Poland. The youngest is thought to be a five-year-old girl whose father is also missing.
The ship’s captain Francesco Schettino, 52, has been detained on suspicion of manslaughter following allegations he deliberately changed the course of the ship to sail close to Giglio Island to perform a salute to a retired former captain and to impress the family of the ship’s head waiter, who lived on the island.
A judge is due to decide shortly whether he should remain in custody.
"The captain is in a very difficult position because we are sure enough that he abandoned the ship when many passengers were still waiting to be evacuated," prosecutor Francesco Verusio told the BBC.
It said a transcript purportedly of conversations between the captain and the coastguard has emerged in the Italian media – apparently drawn from one of the ship’s black box recorders – which appears to corroborate the claims that the captain left the ship before all the passengers escaped.
Capt Schettino has denied wrongdoing and says the rocks were not on his charts. He has insisted that he and his crew were the last people to leave the vessel.
His lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, said his client was "overcome and wants to express his greatest condolences to the victims", adding that the captain had carried out a dangerous manoeuvre that had actually saved lives.
Italy says it will declare a state of emergency over the incident, and provide funding to help avert any environmental disaster. The Italian environment minister said liquid was leaking from the ship, but it was unclear if it was fuel.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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