Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Captain Arrested, Before & After Photos [VIDEO]

costa-concordia_i405498

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 2 of 21

At the time of construction the Costa Concordia was the largest ship ever constructed in Italy.  The luxury ship has 1500 State Rooms and 4 swimming pools.  The ship costed $675 Million to Build. Over 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members were on board when disaster struck.

• Passengers tell of ‘chaos’ as crew members said ‘go back to your cabins’
• Survivors leapt for their lives into the icy sea as the liner rolled onto its side
• Captain of the ship in custody along with first officer
• Boat was ‘four miles off course’ when it hit rocks
  
• Bodies of two French passengers and a Peruvian crewman recovered (drowned) 40 still missing
• The evacuees were taking refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on the tiny island of Giglio

Friday the 13th, Porto Santo Stefano, Italy - Passengers said it was like something from the Titanic when they were ordered to  abandon ship.

The ship began its lurch at the beginning of dinner service in the ship’s two-story dining room, where passengers described a scene of frantic confusion.

The first course of  cuttlefish and mushrooms had just been served in the Costa Concordia’s dining room when the wine glasses, forks and plates of food smashed to the ground as the lights went off. 

Passengers said silverware, plates and glasses crashed down on them from the upper floor balcony, children wailed and darkened hallways upended themselves after the ship began its lurch. Panicked passengers slipped on broken glass as the lights went out. Several passengers said crew members told passengers for 45 minutes that there was a simple “technical problem” that had caused the lights to go off. But experienced passengers who knew better immediately went to their rooms to grab life jackets..

Soon, the hallways turned upside down, and passengers crawled UPHILL on bruised knees through the dark.

Eventually some  jumped alone into the cold Mediterranean Sea. 

France said two of the victims of the sea were Frenchmen; a Peruvian diplomat identified the third victim as Tomas Alberto Costilla Mendoza, 42, a crewman from Peru.

Others waited to be rescued by lifeboats and helicopters.  Some 30 people were injured, at least two seriously.

Dancer Rose Metcalf, a British professional dancer posted this picture on Facebook from the sinking liner.

She was eventually rescued and airlifted to a hospital on the island of Tuscany.

Other survivors were transported onto the tiny island of Giglio which only has 1500 residents. Over 4,150 passengers off of the ship evacuated onto the island and needed to be sheltered. The mayor called on people to open their homes.

VIDEO

2 Americans described the frightening ordeal

“Have you seen ‘Titanic?’ That’s exactly what it was,” said Valerie Ananias, 31, a schoolteacher from Los Angeles who was traveling with her sister and parents on the first of two cruises around the Mediterranean. They all bore dark red bruises on their knees from the desperate crawl they endured along nearly vertical hallways and stairwells, trying to reach rescue boats.

“We were crawling up a hallway, in the dark, with only the light from the life vest strobe flashing,” her mother, Georgia Ananias, 61 said. “We could hear plates and dishes crashing, people slamming against walls.”

She choked up as she recounted the moment when an Argentine couple handed her their 3-year-old daughter, unable to keep their balance as the ship lurched to the side and the family found themselves standing on a wall. “He said ‘take my baby,’” Mrs. Ananias said, covering her mouth with her hand as she teared up. “I grabbed the baby. But then I was being pushed down. I didn’t want the baby to fall down the stairs. I gave the baby back. I couldn’t hold her.

“I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby,” she said.

“I wonder where they are,” daughter Valerie whispered.

“We thought we were dying four times,” Valerie said, recounting the most terrifying moments in their escape.

The family said they were some of the last off the ship, forced to shimmy along a rope down the exposed side of the ship to a waiting rescue vessel below.

BEFORE THE ACCIDENT -

At the magic show in the theatre, the trash cans tipped over and the theatre curtains turned on their side. The magician on stage quickly disappeared. Panic set in the audience as they too realized something was wrong..

Friday The 13th – Day of Accident - (double click on gallery at the top for FULL SIZE photos)

The ship was also involved in an accident on November 22, 2008 when it hit a port wall and was damaged while docking.

The captain of the ship had 11 years experience. He was quoted by Italian television as saying that the vessel had run into rocks that were not marked on nautical maps.He was arrested. An Italian prosecutor has said that Schettino will be investigated with regards to multiple manslaughter and with abandoning ship while passengers were still being rescued and in danger.

A passenger took this photo as passengers waited in line to get aboard life boats

Surviving passengers huddled under woolen or aluminum blankets in a middle school on the Italian mainland of Porto Santo Stefano, where passengers were ferried early Saturday from Giglio. Some wore their life preservers, their shoeless feet were covered with aluminum foil.

A huge rock is shown embedded in the side of the ships hull

Costa Crociera SpA, which is owned by the U.S.-based cruise giant Carnival Corp., defended the actions of its crew and said it was co-operating with the investigation.

Apparently the captain kept going trying to get closer to the island before the ship started evacuating. Amateur Video of Passengers Who Could Not Believe This Was Actually Happening. They are heard screaming out loud wondering where the ship was going. 

WRITTEN BY: MISS KISSY:: Queen of Answers | Goddess of Life | Purveyor of Truth |Half Geek, Half Barbie.. Follow @AskKissy on Twitter or FACEBOOK

Miss Kissy

View all posts by Miss Kissy
Kissys website