Costa Concordia: 'Stupid' Tourists Rescued

My friends, this was taken from Sky News:

http://news.sky.com/story/1034333/costa-concordia-stupid-tourists-rescued

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter
Coastguards have criticised five German cruise ship passengers who hired an inflatable boat to get a close-up look at the wrecked Costa Concordia liner.

The group, including two children, had to be rescued after their tiny boat was swamped by waves, whipped up by storm force winds. All were suffering from the effects of the cold.

Officials said the party were holidaymakers from the Costa Magica, a cruise liner from the same Costa Cruises fleet as the ill-fated Concordia, which struck rocks last year leaving 32 people dead off the Italian island of Giglio.

The Germans had arrived at Civitavecchia and made their way to Porto Santo Stefano where they hired the boat so they could take a look at the stricken Concordia which is still lying on rocks just outside the entrance to Giglio harbour.

Although they managed to sail the 10 miles from Porto Santo Stefano without any problem, on the return leg the weather suddenly changed and the boat got into difficulties.

But it managed to stay afloat and they were picked up by a coastguard vessel which took them back to the mainland.

Morons. I'm surprised they're Germans - it's usually Brits who do stupid things like that.

My friends, this was taken from Jornal de Notícias newspaper:

http://www.jn.pt/PaginaInicial/Mundo/Interior.aspx?content_id=2980141

Commander of the Costa Concordia says he was treated like bin Laden

The captain of the ship "Costa Concordia", which ran aground, about a year ago, near the Italian island of Giglio, considered they have given him an image worse than Osama bin Laden.

In an interview with Italian newspaper "La Stampa" published this Monday, Francesco Schettino reiterated his regret for the consequences of the disaster. "The feeling that marked the latter years of torment was succeeded by the night of January 13," he said.

Throughout the interview, Schettino back to say that you made a risky maneuver is a "widespread practice" despite the navigation code stipulates a minimum distance of five miles (about eight kilometers) in relation to land.

"I do not want to accuse anyone, but that night did not get the precise and exact. I may have failed, but he was not alone," he said.

The commander - who is accused for offenses of voluntary manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning ship - proved to be surprised by the fact that the other officers who were on board are also responding to a lawsuit like him.

With regard to abandon ship, Schettino said that at no time intended to leave the steamer and did everything that ran aground near the coast. Similarly, rejected the accusations that were intoxicated or drugged that night.

The Costa Concordia ran aground on 13 January last year, with 4229 people on board. Thirty died and two are still missing.

Thanks, Pedro. Treated like Bin Laden? Bin Laden BOASTED about his killings; he certainly didn't pretend to fall in a lifeboat....

you welcome bb1, I agree with you.