Online media responds to the Costa Concordia accident

Last night Friday (January 13th), Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Italy.

    MIAMI (January 14, 2012, 3:45pm EST) – This statement is from Carnival Corporation & plc in Miami, FL. Carnival Corporation & plc is the parent company of Costa Cruises.

            On January 13, 2012, Costa Cruises’ vessel, the Costa Concordia, departed from Civitavecchia, Italy with approximately 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members on a seven-day voyage.  At approximately 10:00pm CET, the vessel struck rock off the coast of Isola del Giglio, Italy and sustained significant damage causing the ship to list severely.  The order was given to abandon ship and deploy the lifeboats.

            Tragically, there are reports of some deaths and injuries.  This is a terrible tragedy and we are deeply saddened. Carnival Corporation & plc offers our sympathies and heartfelt condolences to all of the Costa Concordia guests, crew members and their families.  Carnival Corporation & plc and Costa Cruises are committing our full resources to provide assistance and ensure that all guests and crew are looked after.

            We want to express our deep gratitude to the Italian Coast Guard and local authorities and community members who have gone to extraordinary lengths to assist in the evacuation of the ship and provide support for our guests and crew.

            We are working to fully understand the cause of what occurred.  The safety of our guests and crew members remains the number one priority of Carnival Corporation & plc and all of our cruise lines.

New media coverage and how to get information about Costa Concordia incident

Using Twitter – www.Twitter.com

• Hashtags:  #Costa #Concordia #Giglio
• Search terms: Costa Concordia

Logistics

Friends and family members may use the following country-specific contact numbers to reach Costa Cruises:

Who to call 

• Italy                 848505050
• U.S.                 800-462-6782
• Austria            00438109006565
• Germany         +4940570121314
• France             +33155475554
• Spain               +34934875685
• Portugal           +34914185951
• UK                  08453510552

Official website (Europe for UK): http://www.costacruises.co.uk/

Route:

Costa Concordia was sailing across the Mediterranean Sea, starting from Civitavecchia with scheduled calls to Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo. Click here for a route map on Google. 

Area of incident. Photo from Google Maps.

View Costa Concordia in a larger map

Buzzing

The BBC is looking for people that were on the cruise

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International).