Rome, Italy (Channel 6 News) — 6o people are still missing in the waters off the Tuscan coast after a luxury cruise liner came in contact with sea floor and began to take on water. The accident took place shortly after 9:30 Friday night, just about the same time passengers sat down for dinner.
“Everything was up in the air,” passenger Alessandra Grasso told The New York Times- adding: “People, chairs, glasses, food.”
Officials report that 4,200 people were aboard the ship, and as of Saturday evening 3 of those passengers have been found dead. Italian divers are still searching for a remaining 60.
Authorities are unsure about reports that say whether the ship was off course when it hit the obstacle, and have opened an investigation into the accident. Numerous media outlets have confirmed that the ship’s captain and another ship officer have been arrested on charges of manslaughter by Italian police officers.
At the moment, the ship lays virtually flat on its starboard side, and a rock appeared to be protruding into a 160-foot gash in its hull, but it was not the one that had sunk the ship. Passengers were rescued by helicopter and coast guard boats. Witnesses said some had jumped into the wintry Tyrrhenian Sea.
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