A Cruise Ship runs Aground off Italy - Six Died and Four Thousand Evacuated (Updated)

[bill]

A cruise ship runs aground off Italy - six died and four thousand e...

ROME (AFP) - Six people died in the early hours of Saturday after a cruise ship ran aground off the Italian coast in an accident which forced the coast guard to evacuate over 4,000 people, media reports said.

The Costa Concordia was on a trip around the Mediterranean when it hit a reef near the Isola del Giglio late Friday. The local mayor said he feared further casualties as it was proving difficult to rescue the last passengers.

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.

Several people were also injured in the accident, two of them seriously.

Most of the 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members had been evacuated, but around 200 people were still on board around 0230 GMT, according to the prefect of the nearby city of Grosseto, Giuseppe Linardi.

Helicopters with spotlights were being used to help rescuers.

"At around 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) the 290-metre-long Costa Concordia cruise ship... began taking on water and tilting over by around 20 degrees," the coast guard said in a statement, as most of those aboard were rescued in lifeboats.

Passengers heard a large bang and were initially told the ship had shuddered to a halt for electrical reasons, before being told to put on their life-jackets, a passenger from the boat told ANSA news agency by telephone.

"We were having supper when the lights suddenly went out, we heard a boom and a groaning noise, and all the cutlery fell on the floor," passenger Luciano Castro told ANSA news agency.

Some passengers jumped into the sea in their hurry to get off the sinking ship, according to the reports.

"It was like a scene from the Titanic," said passenger Mara Parmegiani.

The local mayor said they were trying to find room to accommodate the rescued passengers, including pregnant women and children.

"We are trying to accommodate them anywhere we can, in schools, nurseries, hotels, anywhere that has a roof," said mayor Sergio Ortelli, who added that some passengers were even bedding down for the night in the church.

The Costa Crociera company, which owns the vessel, said that it was not yet possible to say what caused the problem, but that the evacuation had been fast.

"The ship was on a cruise in the Mediterranean, leaving from Savona with planned stops in Civitavecchia, Palermo, Cagliari, Palma, Barcelona and Marseille," the company said.

"There were around 1,000 Italian passengers on board, as well as 500 Germans and around 160 French people," it added, without giving details about the rest.

The cruise ship -- which boasts 58 suites with balconies, five restaurants, 13 bars, five Jacuzzis and four swimming pools -- had set off from the Civitavecchia port near Rome earlier Friday when it ran into difficulties.

Boats from the nearby port helped evacuate the passengers and crew.

SOZT
The wobble induced North Sea storms are due to the pumping action of the wobble,
http://www.zetatalk.com/newsletr/issue273.htm
where the N Pole leans to the left for sunrise in Europe and then to the right for sunset in Europe. Thus the largest wave in to hit the Irish shores was registered at 2:00 pm.
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/record-size-wave-hits-irish-shor...
But Europe also participate when the most violent push of the wobble occurs, when the Sun is high over the Pacific and Europe is in the dead of night. The globe is pushed violently north as the magnetic N Pole of Earth comes up over the horizon and is pushed away by Planet X. When this happens the globe is pushed SOUTHWARD on the opposite side of the globe, as the globe rolls as one.

What does this do to the rocky shores of Italy and any hapless ships moored or traveling just off the coast? The land is pushed UNDER the water, and the ship suddenly finds itself on rocks it though safely at a distance. Though obvious to the populace watching in amazement where the Sun is found these days, the Earth wobble is not something allowed into print. Thus the ship’s captain, desperate to explain what occurred, is at a loss and casting about to blame navigation equipment failure.  
EOZT

[Kris H]

Still not seeing a tie to Earth changes here. If not part of Earth changes, then violation of rule #8:
No irrelevant blogs. Blogs or Forum discussions that arenot relevant to the focus and premise of this ning will be removed without warning. Discussions such as physical evidence, Earth changes, the weather, social and psychological adjustments, and survival techniques are of course appropriate. REASON irrelevance is clutter.

[Kojima]

Photos:  Cruise Ship Runs Aground Off Italy [ABCNews.com]

[KM]

Here are some further pictures of what is unfolding: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/world/europe/italy-cruise-deaths/inde...

[bill]

[bill]

[Kris H]

Any idea how this is tied to Earth changes? Faulty GPS?