Scores Missing, 3 Dead in Cruise Disaster off Italy Coast

Italian coastguard vessels pass by a section of the Costa Concordia cruise ship which lists at 80 degrees off the island of Giglio, Tuscany, northern Italy 14 January 2012 after she ran ground in the early hours. EPA/BGNES

At least 70 persons are reported missing, and 3 deaths have been confirmed by local authorities after a stranded cruise ship capsized off the coast of Tuscany in Italy Saturday.

The evacuation operation for the 3,200 passengers and 1,023 crew members on board is still underway in the afternoon, with the vast majority safely transported to the land.

The luxury Costa Concordia ship ran aground in shallows some 300 meters away from the Tuscany Giglio Island.

This led to a capsizing of the large vesel, after a 70 meter hole formed in the body of the ship, filling it with water.

Authorities have said they still hope that the cruise ship will not sink, but that is not certain.

Itailan RAI TV has reported that some 40 persons have been injured in the incident, some of them heavily.

Some 70 persons are missing this far, with authorities hoping that they might have safely swum to the nearby island.

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