Hundreds feared drowned in Indian ferry disaster

A packed ferry boat capsized in heavy winds and rain in remote northeastern India late Monday, leaving at least 35 people dead and 165 others feared missing, police said.

Assam state police chief J.N. Choudhury said the boat was carrying about 350 passengers and broke into two pieces. The area is about 350 kilometers (215 miles) west of the state capital, Gauhati, and close to where the river enters Bangladesh. About 150 people who were traveling on the top level were rescued or swam to safety, he said. 

Strong winds and rain likely caused the accident, Choudhury said. Police and paramilitary soldiers were sent to help local villagers with rescue efforts, he said.

Read more: France24

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Ship liner ignore distress signal from a wandered off boat - causes death to two of the three onboard

It may be disturbing to read but this what actually happened.

The boat in which three friends went fishing drifted off in the sea when its engine malfunctioned. At the verge of death they spotted a ship, Star Princess, the waved and were even spotted by at least three passengers on board. But their distress signal were ignored by ship crew and it sailed on.

The boat then wandered off for another two weeks till it was picked  - by then two of the three had died.

Star Princess cruise ship, which is owned by Carnival - the same corporation behind the operators of the Cost Concordia - which capsized earlier this year, apparently passed fishing boat Fifty Cent off the coast of Panama and despite passengers raising the alarm, did not detour to pick up the three fishermen.

Read the gory details / watch distressed photos: Mail Online 

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Haunting pictures of boots and a coat at Titanic made public

Newly-released photos show the haunting images of Titanic victim's clothing lining the bottom of the ocean floor 100 years after the New York-bound ship sank in the North Atlantic.

Photo released shows the pair of shoes at the sea bed where Titanic sank 100 years from hence [Photo: AP]

A 2004 photograph, released to the public for the first time this week in an uncropped version to coincide with the disaster's centenary, shows a coat and boots in the mud at the legendary shipwreck site.

It came as the passengers of a cruise ship retracing the route of the ill-fated liner RMS Titanic held an emotional memorial service at the exact spot where the ship sank on its maiden voyage a century ago.

'These are not shoes that fell out neatly from somebody's bag right next to each other,' said James Delgado, the director of maritime heritage at the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration.

See more photos / details: Mail Online 

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Titanic records published online

More than 200,000 records relating to the Titanic have been published online to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking on 15 April.

The documents provide information about survivors and the 1,500 people who died, including a number of wills and hundreds of coroner inquest files.

The collection has been gathered by the subscription-based family history website Ancestry.co.uk.

However, access to the Titanic records collection is free until 31 May 2012.

Read more: BBC News

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Italian cargo ship runs aground

Coast guards in Italy have used helicopters to rescue the crew of a cargo ship after it ran aground on a reef off Sicily in stormy seas.

All 19 crew members were ferried to shore by helicopters after the captain of the Gelso M gave the order to abandon ship.

Rescue service sources quoted by the agency suggested that, given the weather conditions, the captain had been sailing too close to the coast.

The ship's double hull meant there was a low risk of pollution but the environment ministry was alerted nonetheless, AFP news agency reports.

Details: BBC News

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Helicopters airlift food to stricken Costa Allegra

Passengers endured a third day without power and hot food on a stricken Costa cruise ship in the sweltering Indian Ocean on Wednesday, as helicopters airlifted fresh bread to the liner under tow.

The Costa Allegra, which is owned by the company whose giant liner smashed into rocks off Italy last month, suffered an engine-room fire which knocked out the ship's main power supply on Monday, disabling the engines in waters prowled by pirates.

Read details: Reuters

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Costa Allegra: Costa Cruises face another debacle

Passengers aboard the Costa Allegra cruise liner that was left without power after a fire are expected to reach land on Thursday.

The vessel, which is operated by the same company involved in the Costa Concordia tragedy, was cast adrift in the Indian Ocean after the blaze broke out in an electric generator room on Monday.

The stranded travellers - who include 31 Britons - were earlier being towed to Desroches, a small, coral-lined island in the Seychelles, and were due to reach it by Wednesday morning.

However, Costa Cruises later announced they could not disembark there as it was not safe enough and the ship would instead be taken to the main Seychelles island of Mahe.

read details: Google

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Costa Concordia Disaster: Ship crew 'downplayed emergency' [Video]

A video has emerged showing the crew of the Costa Concordia reassuring passengers nothing was wrong, after the cruise ship had begun taking in water.

In the amateur footage below, a crew member says "everything is under control" and a generator problem will be fixed. She asks passengers to go to their cabins.

Read more: BBC News Europe

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Sinking Cosa Concordia

Passengers on board saw what they had seen while watching the movie 'Titanic' - water flowing down the stairs. While many were running for life, one passenger chose to film the water flowing in the fateful ship - to me it looks like a Hollywood movie scene. But it is real and tragic that killed 11 and still many are missing.

Watch the video below:

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Costa Concordia Disaster: Was ship captain trying to impress blonde ballerina when Costa hit the rocks?

Italian police are seeking a ballerina they believe may shed light on the Costa Concordia disaster. Domnica Cemortan was seen cavorting with Captain Francesco Schettino in the minutes before his cruise liner foundered on rocks.

Captain Coward (L - Photo: Reuters) - Sinking Costa Concordia (R - Photo: AP)

Italian authorities believe 52-year-old Schettino – dubbed Captain Coward – may have been distracted from his command by trying to impress the dancer. They consider the 25-year-old Moldovan blonde to be a ‘key witness’.

Read more: Mail Online

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Costa Concordia Disaster: Death toll rises to 11

Italian media say five more bodies have been found aboard a cruise ship that capsized off the coast of Tuscany, raising the official death toll to 11.

Before the latest find, 29 people from the cruise ship were still missing. Officials said the missing included 14 Germans, six Italians, four French, two Americans, one Hungarian, one Indian and one Peruvian.

Teams have been searching the ship for passengers and crew missing since the Costa Concordia struck rocks Friday evening and capsized. Rescuers exploded four holes in the hull of the ship earlier Tuesday to gain easier access to areas that had not yet been searched.

Read more: Huffington Post

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Costa Concordia Disaster: Rescuers blast holes in stricken ship

Italian naval divers on Tuesday exploded holes in the hull of a cruise ship grounded off a Tuscan island to speed the search for 29 missing people while seas were still calm. One official said there was still a "glimmer of hope" that survivors could be found.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, prepared to question the captain, who is accused of causing the wreck that left at least six dead and abandoning the Costa Concordia before all 4,200 people onboard were safely evacuated after the vessel capsized Friday night.

Read more: Travel USA Today

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Titanic Disaster Revisited: 'My husband gave me his life jacket as he could not swim' and jumped with me in water - and drowned

The following story may remind many of the last moments of the sinking the ship in the movie 'Titanic':

A Costa Concordia survivor has told how her husband saved her life before drowning - because there was 'nobody there' to save him.

Frenchwoman Nicole Servel, 61, said Francis Servel, 71, gave her his lifejacket before they leapt off the sinking cruise ship. 'He shouted: "Jump, jump, jump". I can't swim so he gave me his life jacket.

I jumped off and the last thing I heard him say was that I would be fine. Then I never saw him again.

She said: 'I owe my life to my husband – it’s obvious he saved me.' She managed to swim for shore, while Mr Servel was swept underwater and drowned.

Read more: Mail Online

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Costa Concordia Disaster: Hope fades of finding more survivors

Hope of finding survivors on the half-submerged Costa Concordia waned Monday after rescuers found a sixth victim, three days after the giant luxury liner ran aground off the Italian coast in an accident that increasingly appeared to have been avoidable.

The sixth victim was a still-unidentified male passenger who was found on the second bridge of the ship wearing a life jacket.

Search efforts were suspended for a time Monday as weather conditions worsened and the ship's position shifted slightly. They were later resumed, only to be suspended again at nightfall.

Read more: LA Times

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Costa Concordia Disaster: Sixth body found

A SIXTH body has been found in the cruise liner shipwrecked off the Italian coast, AFP reported early Monday, citing the ANSA news agency.

Rescuers found the deceased male passenger wearing a lifevest on the second deck in the unsubmerged part of the Costa Concordia.

Divers searching the murky waters in and around the huge vessel had earlier yesterday discovered the bodies of two elderly men - one an Italian and the other a Spanish national.

Read more: Herald Sun

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Costa Concordia Owners admit Captain 'committed errors'

The company operating a cruise ship that capsized after hitting rocks off western Italy on Friday says the captain may have "committed errors".

Sinking Costa Concordia

"The route followed by the ship turned out to be too close to the coast, and it seems that his decision in handling the emergency didn't follow Costa Crociere's procedures which are in line, and in some cases, go beyond, international standards," the statement added.

At least five people have died but about 15 remain unaccounted for. Divers are trying to find more survivors.

Read more / watch video of rescue operation / captain of the ship: BBC News  Europe

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Costa Concordia Crash: Third Survivor Rescued From Capsized Ship as death toll increases to Five

Coast guard divers searching the submerged part of the Costa Concordia on Sunday found the bodies of two elderly men still in their life jackets, authorities said, raising to five the death toll after the luxury cruise liner ran aground and tipped over off the Tuscan coast.

The discovery reduced to 15 the number of people still unaccounted for after an Italian who worked in cabin service was pulled from the wreckage Sunday and a South Korean couple on their honeymoon were rescued late Saturday in the un-submerged part of the liner when a team of rescuers heard their screams.

Read more: Huffington Post

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Costa Concordia Captain Detained for Man Slaughter and Abandoning Ship

The Italian captain of the ship that sank off the coast of Tuscany was detained by prosecutors as efforts continued to search for the missing.

The sinking Costa Concordia

Authorities said that Francesco Schettino, 52, who has worked for the owners of the cruise liner for 11 years, was being investigated for manslaughter and abandoning his ship. Prosecutor Francesco Velusio was quoted as saying that the vessel "was mistakenly close" to the island on a route ordered by Schettino through well-mapped sea lanes.

The Costa Concordia, which was built in Italy and launched in 2006, set off from Civitavecchia on Friday for a Mediterranean cruise, carrying 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew. Survivors described panic, confusion and fear as the ship began to list heavily following what sounded like a loud explosion. "Have you seen Titanic? That's exactly what it was like for us," said Valerie Ananias, 31, a schoolteacher from Los Angeles travelling with her sister and parents.

Read more / watch video of the sinking ship: The Guardian

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Italians launch rescue operation as cruise liner 'Costa Concordia' runs aground

About 1,800 passengers were being evacuated by lifeboat to a nearby Island from a cruise ship Costa Concordia off Italy on Friday last night after it ran aground off the coast of Tuscany.

Costa Concordia

The coast guard said in a statement: "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 passengers are not in danger, a rescue mission is underway," a coast guard at Giglio port told the AFP news agency. 

The vessel is one of the largest the 27-ship fleet operated by Costa cruises, which describes it as a "floating temple of fun" containing 1,500 cabins, 13 bars and five restaurants.


Updated: At least three bodies were recovered from the sea and at least three additional persons were feared dead, and helicopters were working to pluck to safety some 50 people still trapped aboard the badly listing Costa Concordia, said Coast Guard Cmdr. Francesco Paolillo, early Saturday.

Read more: The Guardian / 14 Jan updated: 10:23 AM PST

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