Eight deaths reported as cruise ship runs aground off Italy

Source: USA Today

UPDATE, 11:55: Eight people are dead after the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground off the Italian coast in an accident which forced the coast guard to evacuate over 4,000 people, AFP reports.

More than 30 people were also injured in the accident, several seriously, and several people were still missing after jumping overboard in panic as the ship began to tilt, the Messaggero newspaper said. One of the victims was a man in his 70s who died of a heart attack caused by the shock to his system when he jumped into the icy waters, reports said.

Most of the 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members were quickly evacuated, but around 200 people remained stranded on board.

According to the London Telegraph, the passengers' dinner was interrupted by a loud boom around 8 pm local time. An initial announcement claimed the ship was suffering an electrical failure, and ordered everyone onboard to don life-jackets.

Read more: http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2012/01/costa-cruise-ship-aground-italy/603174/1

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Looks like these deaths and injuries occurred when people panicked and jumped overboard, probably intending to swim to the nearby island.

I was on a sun cruz casino ship that did a heavy list towards the water. the cap'n brought us back upright, but the poker tables slid across the floor towards me and all the chips went everywhere! what a moment that was. on a ship of that size, you wouldn't expect that, so I woulda been quite bothered. so sad that so many died by jumping.

Looks like she's on the bottom now but the article doesn't say.

But most people expect death on a killing cruise.

People expect pleasure on a pleasure cruise. They would be more likely to expect deaths if they were named something more sinister. Ha ha, I kill me.

I thought I had mistaken the purpose of the ship or missed an key part of the story.

no not to compare Titanic but the dates close enough. Titanic hits iceberge Dec 14th 1912 Tuscany one hits sandbar Jan 14th 2012

o_O


and yet again the lifeboats were worthless

ship was thought to be unsinkable--a good lesson for anyone banking on a "sure thing."

On this ship, apparently a lot of people panicked and jumped overboard. A lifeboat that you never try to use is indeed useless, literally.