Costa Concordia Runs Aground and Sinks

Porto Santo Stefano (Italy) – January 14, 2012 – The Costa Concordia was on a trip around the Mediterranean when it apparently hit a reef near the island of Giglio on Friday as passengers were sitting down for dinner. Some of the passengers jumped into the icy waters. At least three people died and several were missing Saturday after an Italian cruise ship with more than 4,000 people on board ran aground and keeled over, sparking scenes of panic.

Costa Concordia was the largest and most luxury vessel of Costa Cruises. The ship was the symbol of the largest cruise company is Europe. Costa Concordia with a length of 290.00 meters and beam of 36.00 meters was an amazing cruise liner. The cruise ship had four swimming pools, five restaurants, 13 bars, spa, cinema, fitness centra and even a jogging track with a total of 1,500 cabins in total carrying 3,700 passengers and 1,100 crew members. It had a 114,500 gross tonnage and Costa Concordia was considered the shining star of cruise shipping in Europe. The vessel was sailing under Italian flag of Italy.

Costa Cruises statement said the Costa Concordia was sailing on a cruise across the Mediterranean Sea, starting from Civitavecchia with scheduled calls to Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo.

Sixteen hours after the accident over 70 passengers are still unaccounted for.

To watch a video of Costa Concordia, click here.

About Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises is the largest Italian group in Tourism and the n.1 cruise company in Europe, which boasts 60 years of history. Its fleet, Europe’s largest and most advanced, has a total of 27 ships in service, each with her own distinctive characteristics and unique style. All of the vessels fly the Italian flag and sail each year to 250 destinations in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, South America, the United Arab Emirates, the Far East, the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.