Cruise Ship Disaster: Photos Show Horrifying Mess Survivors Had To Escape
Jan. 17 2012, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
As more and more shocking details emerge regarding the cruise liner disaster that occurred off the coast of Italy on Friday night, shocking photos have been released showing the horrifying chaos of the semi-sunken ship’s interior.
In the pictures, taken by divers that are continuing their underwater search for the 16 people still unaccounted for, you can see the absolute disarray and wreckage which must of added to the struggles of passengers trying to swim to safety.
In what was once the Costa Concordia’s dining room, broken tables and furniture lay all over -- scattered around in a scene more reminiscent of Bedlam than a holiday cruise ship.
In another photo a diver bobs in a sea of broken furniture and wine bottles, desperately trying to find the missing bodies as time works against the brave rescue crew.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the C.E.O. of the cruise ship company admitted on Monday that human error played a role in the tragedy.
Costa Cruises Chief Executive Officer Pier Luigi Foschi said in a news conference that ship captain Francesco Schettino embarked on an unapproved, unauthorized maneuver prior to the capsize. (Media reports out of Italy indicate Schettino swerved the ship -- carrying 4,234 passengers and crew -- four miles off-course to wave to a pal who was on land, before hitting a rock.)
"The company will be close to the captain and will provide him with all the necessary assistance," Foschi said, "but we need to acknowledge the facts and we cannot deny human error."
Schettino was arrested Saturday in connection with manslaughter and abandoning ship, after it came to light he left the vessel before ensuring all of the 4,200 people aboard were safely evacuated.
Meanwhile, a sixth body was recovered Monday, leaving 10 passengers and six crew members still unaccounted for in the wake of the incident.
Dyana Arlotti, 5, is the youngest person unaccounted for after she went missing with her father William. Dyana's mother, Susy Albertini told Voce di Romagna: “I have made hundreds of phone calls to my ex-husband, but he does not respond.
“I called all the authorities, the Police Prefecture to the Marina di Grosseto, the fire department, but nobody can tell me anything about my daughter. The last time I saw Dyana was Thursday morning. I took her to kindergarten.
“In the evening her father picked her up. It is not the first time she has gone with her father on a cruise. I heard there were problems on the ship on Saturday morning from his parents. Meanwhile, I continue to call everyone and no one can tell me anything about my daughter.”
Rescue efforts are being further hampered as the ship’s position continues to shift, later on Monday the liner slipped further into the sea during high winds, and is now lying on it’s side in around 45 ft of water.
There are fears that the ship could totally break free from the ledge it is currently rested on and plunge to the bottom of the ocean entirely. There are also fears of an environmental disaster if the fuel tanks puncture, releasing the fuel into the Mediterranean.
Follow RadarOnline.com's Managing Editor David Perel on Twitter at @IMPerel.
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