29 People Still Missing, Cruise Ship Search Takes New Measures

New measures are being taken to try and find the 29 people still missing in the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster. Explosives are being used to create openings in the Costa Concordia cruise ship that is capsizing in Italy. Alessandro Busonero told Sky TV 24 that these allow divers “to enter easily for the search.”

Of the 29 still missing, 10 are Germans and 2 Americans, Jerry Heil, 69, and his wife Barbara, 70, from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Marco Brusco, an Italian Coast Guard official, said there is still “a glimmer of hope” that there are survivors. The families of the missing will be holding their breath.

So far the Captain has been blamed for the accident but going forward new safety regulations and procedures need to be thought out. Koji Sekimizu, the secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, had this to say: “We should seriously consider the lessons to be learned and, if necessary, re-examine the regulations on the safety of large passenger ships in the light of the findings of the casualty investigation.”

Compensation will also no doubt play a part in the Costa Concordia saga. Italian consumer advocacy organization Codacons has indicated that more than 70 passengers want to join a class-action approach to winning compensation from Costa. Codacons president Carlo Rienzi said: “Our aim is to make every passenger obtain an indemnity of at least 10,000 Euro (more than $12,500) for the material damage suffered and for moral damage, such as the terror suffered, ruined vacations and the grave risks that they ran.”

Source: Fox News