Rescue teams were still searching for survivors on Sunday as dozens were still considered missing after the Costa Concordia cruise ship capsized off the coast of Italy on Friday. Three people have been confirmed dead. All eight Israeli passengers on board managed to flee unharmed and were en route back to Israel on Saturday. The ship, which carried more than 3,000 passengers and some 1,000 crew members, was operated by Costa Cruise, a subsidiary of the Carnival Corporation which is owned by Israeli-American billionaire Micky Arison. Micky Arison is the brother of Shari Arison, Israel's wealthiest person. Carnival Cruise Lines was founded by Ted Arison (Micky and Shari's father) in 1972, and is currently estimated to be worth, as of this weekend, some $26.6 billion. Its annual revenues are estimated at around $14.4 billion, with profits estimated at nearly $2 billion. In 2000, Carnival Corporation purchased the Italian company, Costa Cruises (Costa Crociere S.p.A. in Italian). Meanwhile, with some 40 passengers still unaccounted for, a South Korean honeymoon couple was plucked from the capsized Italian liner more than 24 hours after it was wrecked, and rescue workers were struggling to save a crew member trapped on board. Teams were painstakingly checking thousands of rooms on the Costa Concordia, mostly in darkness and submerged in freezing water. Scores of divers were involved in the rescue effort. Just after dawn on Sunday, a team made voice contact with the third survivor, a crew member, still on board the ship. "We are doing the impossible to reach this person," coast guard spokesman Luciano Nicastro told Italian television. After midnight, rescue workers had found the two South Koreans still alive in a cabin, after locating them from several decks above, and bringing them ashore, looking dazed but unharmed. The captain of the luxury 114,500-ton ship, Francesco Schettino, was under arrest and accused of multiple counts of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship, Italian police said. Passengers, comparing the disaster to the movie "Titanic," told of people leaping into the sea and fighting over life jackets in panic when the ship hit a rock and ran aground near the island of Giglio, late on Friday. The vast hulk of the 290-metre-long cruise ship, resting half-submerged on its side, loomed over the little port of Giglio, a picturesque island in a maritime nature reserve off the Tuscan coast. A large gash was visible on its side. Rescue workers including specialist diving teams were working their way through more than 2,000 cabins on the ship, a floating resort that boasted a huge spa, seven restaurants, bars, cinemas and discotheques. As the search continued, there were demands for explanations of why the vessel had come so close to the shore and bitter complaints about how long it took to evacuate the terrified passengers after the ship ran aground late on Friday. State prosecutor Francesco Verusio said investigations might go beyond the captain. "We are investigating the possible culpability of other people who could be responsible for such a dangerous maneuver," he told SkyTG24 television. "The command systems did not function as they should have." There were fears the death toll would rise after considerable confusion on Saturday over the number of missing passengers. Magistrates said Schettino abandoned the vessel before all the passengers were taken off. In a television interview, Schettino said the submerged rock that the ship had hit was not marked on any maritime charts of the area. Costa Crociere President Gianni Ororato said the captain "performed a maneuver intended to protect both guests and crew" but it was "complicated by a sudden tilting of the ship." "We'll be able to say at the end of the investigation. It would be premature to speculate on this," said coast guard spokesman Filippo Marini. After a night-time operation on Friday and Saturday involving helicopters, ships and lifeboats, many passengers had left the area with many taken to Rome airport for flights home. The ship was involved in an accident on Nov. 22, 2008 when it hit a port wall and was damaged while docking. Local officials expressed concern the fuel on the ship, at full load, could spill into the pristine waters. However by early Sunday, there was no sign of any pollution damage.
Capsized cruise ship owned by American-Israeli billionaire
All eight Israeli passengers escape ship safely after it hits submerged rock and runs aground • Costa Concordia cruise ship operated by subsidiary of Israeli-American billionaire Micky Arison's Carnival Corporation.
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