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Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Accident

Costa Concordia Sunk Of The Coast. Were you or a loved one aboard the Costa Concordia cruise ship when it ran aground and sunk off the coast of Italy? On Friday, January 13, 2012, 4,200 passenger and crew were forced to flee the Costa Concordia after it hit a reef and began to sink. Dozens […]

Costa Concordia

Costa Concordia Sunk Of The Coast. Were you or a loved one aboard the Costa Concordia cruise ship when it ran aground and sunk off the coast of Italy? On Friday, January 13, 2012, 4,200 passenger and crew were forced to flee the Costa Concordia after it hit a reef and began to sink.

Dozens of passengers and crew were injured, while a still unknown number were killed. Others aboard the Costa Concordia were forced to abandon ship, in many cases without any personal possessions or passports.Parker Waichman LLP has been successfully helping maritime accidents victims for more than 20 years.

If you were aboard the Costa Concordia when it sank, you may be entitled to compensation. Our maritime injury lawyers are offering free lawsuit consultations to Costa Concordia passengers. To protect your legal rights, we urge you to contact one of our experienced Maritime lawyers today.

Costa Concordia Sinking

The Costa Concordia is owned by the Italian company Costa Crociera SpA, a subsidiary of Miami based Carnival Corp. The 4-year-old Concordia measures 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It had 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms.  The ship accommodates a total of 4,200 passengers and crew.

On January 13, the Concordia had left the Italian port of Civitavecchia near Rome on a week-long cruise to Barcelona and Majorca. Roughly two hours later, the Concordia hit a sandbar near the Tuscan island of Giglio, as many of the vessel’s 3,200 passengers were sitting down to dinner. The collision left a 160-foot gash in the hull of vessel, allowing seawater to rush into the ship. The Costa Concordia was 4 miles off course when the ship ran aground.

Concordia passengers reported hearing a rumble or bang, followed by the Concordia beginning to list. According to various media reports, passengers also said they had been given little or no information in the immediate aftermath of the ship running aground.

Roughly 20 minutes later an announcement was made that the Concordia was having electrical issues that would be fixed shortly. Sometime later, announcements were made telling passenger to muster, and later an abandon ship signal was sounded. Passengers aboard the Concordia also reported that the crew seemed overwhelmed and unable to cope with the evacuation. In some cases, they did not know how to lower lifeboats.

In other instances passengers had to lower boats themselves as no crew were available to do so. In the panic, an unknown number of passengers even jumped into cold sea to escape the rapidly sinking ship. Remarkably, passengers also reported that the Concordia had yet to conduct an evacuation drill when it ran aground, as one was only scheduled the next day.

On Saturday, Italian law enforcement officials announced that the Concordia’s captain and first officer had been detained on suspicion of manslaughter and abandoning ship. Passengers had reported to the Associated Press and other media outlets that the captain was seen leaving aboard a lifeboat before the evacuation of the Concordia was complete.

As of Sunday, January 15, the Costa Concordia disaster death toll had reached five. However, at least 15 people were still missing, and dive crews were frantically searching the partially-submerged ship for survivors and remains of any more dead. At least 30 people were injured, at least two critically.

Need Legal Help Regarding Costa Concordia?

The personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. For more information, fill out our online contact form or call 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529).

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