Eight people are dead after a cruise ship ran aground off the Italian coast in an accident which forced the Italian coast guard to evacuate over 4000 people, according to Italian media reports.
The Costa Concordia was on a trip around the Mediterranean when it hit a reef near the Isola del Giglio. The local mayor said he feared further casualties as it was proving difficult to rescue the last passengers.
Eight people were killed and several people were still missing after jumping overboard in panic as the ship began to tilt, the Messaggero newspaper reported.
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.
More than 30 people were also injured in the accident, several seriously.
Most of the 3200 passengers and 1000 crew members had been evacuated, but around 200 to 300 people were still on board, according to the prefect of the nearby city of Grosseto, Giuseppe Linardi.
My friend was on this ship 3 months ago!
and today she posted it on Facebook, that the ship had a crash!
My first reaction was, she's lying!
But now I see it's truth...
R.I.P
More Infos:
500 German people, 150 French people and thousand Italian.
The ship has an over 50meters long crack
a 70-year-old man jumped out into the cold water, the water was so cold he had a shock and had a heart attack and died...