New video: Crew orders Costa Concordia passengers to cabins
The Cruise ship Costa Concordia lies stricken off the shore of the island of Giglio in Giglio Porto, Italy.
New video has surfaced that shows a Costa Concordia crew member telling passengers they should return to their cabins, Euronews reported.
A female staff member says, in Italian, “Everything is under control,” and that passengers should “Go back to your cabins.” Passengers are all wearing lifejackets awaiting instructions.
The employee says an electrical problem will be resolved shortly. Italy’s Rai TV secured the video from a passenger.
The ship crashed into rocks about 9:30 p.m., the Toronto Star said, and began to list 20 minutes later.
Everything is under control,” the employee says on the video. “Return to your cabins. There is a problem with the electricity, but there is no emergency. Return to your cabins.”
UPDATE: Costa Concordia CEO Pierluigi Foschi told Italian state TV that the ship's captain did not relay correct information to the company after the accident and Captain Francesco Schettino said only that he had "problems" but did not mention hitting a reef, the Associated Press reported.
Foschi said the company spoke to the captain some 20 minutes after the accident but could not offer proper assistance because the captain's description "did not correspond to the truth."
At about 10:10, the crew gave an abandon ship order and the Coast Guard launched rescue operations shortly afterward, the Star said. Eleven people died when the ship ran aground off the coast of Italy with 4,200 people aboard; another 21 people are still missing as salvage operations continue. There are reports the captain diverted course too close to an island to honor a former colleague, the BBC said.
Rescue workers again called off operations today due to choppy waters, BBC said.
Survivors have said the incident was handled very poorly, according to the Mirror.
"The evacuation of the ship was completely chaotic,” Sandra Rodgers, 62, told the Mirror. “There was certainly no 'women and children first' policy. It was disgusting."
The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, faces manslaughter and abandoning ship charges; he is under house arrest as the investigation continues.
More on GlobalPost: Bad weather halts rescue operation