Three die, 70 missing in cruise disaster

A SOUTH African passenger who was aboard the cruise liner Costa Concordia that ran aground near the coast of Tuscany, Italy, on Friday, has spoken of the experience.

Mike van Dijk, 54, from Pretoria, said: "We had to scream at the controllers to release the boats from the side ... they weren't allowing us to get on to the boats. It was a scramble, an absolute scramble."

Divers searched the submerged part of the liner in case any of 70 people unaccounted for were trapped inside, a coast guard official said yesterday, as passengers described a delayed and terrifying evacuation.

Three bodies were recovered from the sea after the liner ran aground off the tiny island of Giglio and tore a gash in its hull.

Passengers described a scene reminiscent of Titanic, saying they escaped the ship by crawling along upended hallways as the lights went out. Helicopters took some survivors to safety, others were rescued by private boats in the area, and witnesses said some people jumped from the ship into the dark, cold sea.

Passengers complained the crew failed to give evacuation instructions and, once the emergency became clear, delayed lowering the lifeboats until the ship was listing too far for many of them to be released.

Authorities have been checking names against the passenger list, but have had a hard time accounting for everyone. They had not counted all the survivors by the time they reached the mainland 12 hours later.

An evacuation drill had been scheduled for yesterday.

"It was so unorganised, our evacuation drill was scheduled for 5pm," said Melissa Goduti, 28, of Wallingford, Connecticut. "We had joked: 'What if something had happened today?'"

Valerie Ananias, 31, from Los Angeles, said: "Have you seen Titanic? That's exactly what it was."

The schoolteacher, her sister and parents all had bruises on their knees from crawling up nearly vertical hallways and stairwells to try to reach safety.

Valerie's mother, Georgia, 61, said: "We could hear plates and dishes crashing, people slamming against walls."

An Argentine couple gave Georgia their 3-year-old daughter because they were unable to keep their balance as the ship lurched to the side.

Her eyes brimming with tears, Georgia said she couldn't hold the child, and had to give her back to the parents.

"I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby," she said.

"I wonder where they are," Valerie whispered.

A Costa executive, Gianni Onorato, said: "The ship was doing what it does 52 times a year, going along the route between Civitavecchia and Savona."