Italian Cruiser Death Toll Climbs to 5, 15 Still Missing

The confirmed number of deaths in the sinking of a cruise liner off the coast of Italy rose to five on Sunday with the discovery of two more bodies in the flooded stern of the Costa Concordia.

According to the Ansa news agency, cited by DPA, the bodies of two elderly men were found by scuba divers in a cabin. Both were wearing life jackets.

The gruesome discovery came just hours after firefighters rescued a third survivor, officer Marrico Giampetroni, who was suffering from leg injuries but was not in a life-threatening condition.

Firefighters located him after hearing noises coming from a partially flooded area of the ship. He was then hoisted onto a helicopter.

"I always hoped I would be saved. I lived through a 36-hour nightmare," Giampetroni told reporters at the scene.

A honeymooning South Korean couple, identified as Hye Jim Jeong and Kideok Han, was brought to safety overnight, while 15 people - nine passengers and six crew members - remain unaccounted for, nearly two days after the sinking of the Costa Concordia off Italy's western coast.

Efforts to reach survivors were hampered by blocked doors and staircases, and scattered furniture inside the 290-meter ship, which is half-submerged and listing 80 degrees with a crack in its hull.

Meanwhile, two Japanese tourists who had been listed among the missing were traced in Rome earlier Sunday after they left the scene of the accident without first informing the authorities.

The other confirmed victims are two French passengers and a Peruvian crew member. The three men are thought to have drowned after the ship hit a rock and then ran aground late Friday near Giglio, a small island off the coast of Tuscany.

The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, was taken into custody on Saturday after being questioned by investigators trying to determine the cause of the accident. He faces possible charges of multiple manslaughter and of causing a disaster.

There are growing suspicions that Schettino may have steered the vessel close to Giglio to salute tourists gathered on its port. Similar manoeuvres have taken place several times before, according to witnesses.

"Many ships pass by Giglio to salute the island's inhabitants with a whistle. It is a beautiful spectacle to watch the illuminated ship from land ... This time things went badly," Italian daily La Repubblica quoted Giglio Mayor Sergio Ortelli as saying.

Meanwhile, the ship's 'black box' had been recovered and was expected to shed light on the vessel's final movements, while there was growing concern about a possible oil spill, with the ship carrying an estimated 2,380 tons of diesel fuel.

Its Genoa-based owner said 3,216 passengers and 1,013 crew members were on board at the time of the accident.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!