Captain arrested as death toll hits five

Two South Korean honeymooners and an Italian crewman were rescued yesterday from a cruise ship wreck in Italy but emergency services found another two bodies, bringing the death toll to five.

Captain and first officer face possible charges of multiple homicide and abandoning ship before all passengers were rescued

Divers found the bodies of two elderly men wearing lifejackets in a cabin in the rear of the submerged part of the 17-deck Costa Concordia.

The divers were next focusing on the dining areas in the search for more bodies as many passengers were eating when the boat hit the rocks.

More than a dozen people are still missing after the luxury liner, carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, hit rocks just off the Tuscan island of Giglio on the evening of Friday the 13th. The Costa Concordia was regarded as a cursed ship by superstitious Italian sailors, after the champagne bottle failed to smash when it was thrown against the hull for its christening ceremony.

Meanwhile rescuers said the search in the half-submerged ship was highly dangerous because the decks were at almost a 90-degree angle and there was a risk the ship could slip off the rocks it had struck and sink altogether.

Two French passengers and one Peruvian crew member were confirmed dead, apparently after jumping into the chilly Mediterranean waters in a chaotic evacuation. But fire brigade spokesman Luca Cari said the rescued South Korean honeymooners had been evacuated and were in “perfect condition”.

The rescued Italian, an officer responsible for passenger security who had suffered a broken leg, was found after emergency crews spent hours trying to reach him after hearing his voice echoing in the massive ship.

Local prosecutors announced that they had arrested captain Francesco Schettino and first officer Ciro Ambrosio.

Capt Schettino had told Italian news channel TGCOM that the ship hit a rock that was not on the charts and that he had tried to save as many people as possible. But Italian media said the two officers face possible charges of multiple homicide and abandoning the ship before all the passengers were rescued.

Captain and first officer pace possible charges of multiple homicide and abandoning ship before all passengers were rescued.

Two Americans on board, Brandon Warrick and his sister Amanda, told CNN TV what happened after the lights went out on the boat. Amanda spoke of the growing panic as passengers realised it was far more serious.

“Those were the most chaotic moments because everyone was pushing, shoving each other, trying to get on a life boat. It was chaos.”

Rescuers said they plucked 100 people from the sea after some of the lifeboats could not be lowered because of the steep angle at which the shop was leaning.

About 60 people who did not manage to find a lifeboat were rescued from the vessel itself, including one passenger with a broken leg. Around 60 people were injured, including two seriously – a woman with a blow to the head and a man struck in the spine. Most of those hospitalised had suffered broken limbs or had hypothermia.

The Genoa-based owner of the ship, Costa Crociere, is Europe’s biggest cruise operator.