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الأحد، 15 يناير 2012

The two elderly victims were found near the ship's restaurant, still wearing their life jackets, Coast Guard spokesman Capt

The bodies of two elderly people have been recovered from the ill-fated cruise ship Costa Concordia, the Italian Coast Guard said Sunday, bringing the number of dead in the wreck to at least five.
. Cosimo Nicastro told reporters. At least 20 people were injured, authorities said.
The grim discovery came as criticism continued to mount Sunday, three days after the ship hit rocks off the coast of Tuscany. The captain and first officer are both in custody, as authorities try to determine how and why the vessel ran aground and examine the crew's response afterward.
Carnival Corp., the parent company of Costa Cruises, did not respond to requests Sunday from CNN for more information on the incident.
Gianni Onorato, president of Genoa-based Costa Cruises, has said the cruise line was unable to answer all the questions that authorities are now investigating.
Amid this ongoing uncertainty, there was a hint of hope earlier Sunday when a ship employee was rescued.
Crews found the man -- an Italian purser whose name was not released -- trapped in one of the ship's restaurant. He was suffering from hypothermia when rescue crews found him, said Commander Filippo Marini, spokesman for the Port Authority of Porto Santo Stefano.
Many others were able to get ashore earlier despite what survivors described as "chaos" to board lifeboats.
"It was just battling, mad scrambles," said American student Brandon Warrick, who called it "a giant every man for himself."
His sister Amanda said she feared she was going to die as they waited for up to two hours for rescue.
"Waiting was definitely the worst. Because we didn't know who was going to be coming, how much longer we would have to wait," she said.
The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, has been arrested and faces multiple charges of manslaughter, Italian police say.
He was detained Saturday for alleged manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship while passengers were still on board, chief prosecutor Francesco Verusio told Italy's ANSA state news agency.
Verusio also said first officer Ciro Ambrosio was being detained for questioning on similar charges, according to ANSA.
Speaking on Italian television, the captain insisted the rocks that the Concordia hit were not marked on his map.
"On the nautical chart, it was marked just as water," Schettino said, adding that the ship was about 300 meters from shore.
But Nicastro, the Coast Guard spokesman, insisted that the waters where the ship ran aground were well-mapped. Local fishermen say the island coast of Giglio is known for its rocky sea floor.
"Every danger in this area is on the nautical chart," Nicastro said. "This is a place were a lot of people come for diving and sailing. ... All the dangers are known."
He said the Coast Guard was investigating why the ship took the course it did.
Map: Giglio, ItalyMap: Giglio, Italy
"We know where the ship was," he said. "We know it was too close to the island. ... We don't know why."
Divers resumed their search Sunday morning for people unaccounted for after rocks tore a gash in the hull Friday evening, causing the Concordia to turn over on its side off the coast of the island of Giglio.
At least 17 people were still unaccounted for, the mayor of Giglio said Sunday before the two bodies were found.
Six of the missing were ship staff members and 11 were passengers, added the mayor, Sergio Ortelli.
Like a scene out of the film 'Titanic,' chaos consumed listing ship
Authorities are reviewing passenger lists to confirm the exact number of missing people, said Giuseppe Orsina, a spokesman with the local civil protection agency.
"These people could be still on the island of Giglio, in private houses or in hospitals," Orsina said.
There were fears the death toll could rise as rescuers searched the ship, which was nearly 50% submerged, authorities said.
Italian prosecutors seized the ship's data recorders Saturday, and expect to analyze them within days.
Rescuers overnight Saturday reached two South Korean passengers who had been trapped in the ship for more than 24 hours, authorities said.
"It's a miracle that we found the Korean couple alive, and we hope we'll find more people," said Nicastro of the Italian Coast Guard.
The couple, both 29, were found in a cabin after they heard rescuers calling out and managed to make contact, according to Italy's ANSA news agency. Video showed the couple, reportedly on their honeymoon, being taken ashore and loaded into a waiting ambulance.
The Concordia was carrying about 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members when it ran aground and began taking on water Friday night.
The crew kept going because they believed the vessel could continue sailing normally, said Nicastro, the Coast Guard spokesman. Realizing there was a significant safety problem, the commander steered the Costa Concordia closer toward the port of Giglio, he said.
Authorities are looking at why the ship didn't send a mayday during the accident.
Two French tourists and a crew member from Peru were killed, port authorities in Livorno said. One of the victims was a 65-year-old woman who died of a heart attack, authorities said.
Many of those rescued in the early hours were taken to small churches and other buildings around the island for shelter. Some were still wearing the pajamas and slippers they had on as the ship went down.
The Concordia, built in 2006, had been on a Mediterranean cruise from Rome with stops in Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo.
The passengers onboard included Italians, Peruvians, Brazilians, F

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