Doomed liner: hopes dashed

A stricken Italian cruise liner shifted on its rocky resting place yesterday as worsening weather disrupted an increasingly despairing hunt for any survivors among some 16 people still missing.

As the Costa Concordia's owners blamed their captain for veering shorewards on Friday in a bravura "salute" to residents of a Tuscan island, the giant ship slid a little, threatening to plunge all its gigantic carcass and 2300 tonnes of fuel below the Mediterranean waters of the surrounding nature reserve.

The slippage caused a few hours suspension in efforts to find anyone still alive after three days in the capsized hull, resting on jagged slope outside a picturesque harbour on the island of Giglio. Six bodies have already been found. Most of the 4200 passengers and crew survived, despite hours of chaos.

The 114500-tonne ship, one of the biggest passenger vessels ever to be wrecked, foundered after striking a rock, just as dinner was being served on Friday night. It quickly rolled on its side, revealing a long gouge below the waterline.

Firefighters' spokesman Luca Cari said there were still small movements of the vessel but they were not considered dangerous. However, night-time searches would be suspended.

Another senior firefighter, Luciano Roncalli, told Reuters that all the unsubmerged areas of the liner had been searched, indicating faint hopes of finding more survivors.

Environment Minister Corrado Clini said he would declare a state of emergency because of the risk that the ship's fuel would leak into the pristine Tuscan Archipelago National Park.

No major spillage has so far been detected.

Investigators say the ship was far too close to the shore and its owners, Costa Cruises, said the captain, who has been arrested, had carried out the rash manoeuvre to "make a bow" to people on the island, who included a retired Italian admiral.

The skipper denies charges of manslaughter and his lawyer has said his actions had saved many lives.

• International Relations and Cooperation spokesman Clayson Monyela said the department was "doing everything" to ensure that the eight rescued South Africans could return home soon.

Nafeesa, Faizal, Zaheer and Zahra Agjee, of Pietermaritzburg, will leave Italy on Friday. Mike van Dijk and his wife Narien, from Pretoria, are likely to fly back on Tuesday next week.

Monyela said the other two South African survivors, who live in Canada, had been helped by the Canadian authorities.