Carnival Cruise's Costa Concordia struck rock off the coast of Isola del Giglio, Italy at approximately 10:00pm CET. It sustained significant damage causing the ship to list severely and the order was given to abandon ship and deploy the lifeboats. The cruise ship which had approximately 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members was on a seven-day voyage. News reports currently put the deaths at three with 40 passengers missing.
Some footage here:
The US Embassy in Rome via Twitter https://twitter.com/AmbasciataUSA reports that there were 126 Americans onboard and no crew members based on information from local authorities.
The U.S. Consulate Florence and Embassy Rome are reportedly assisting Americans from Costa Concordia with travel arrangements & documents. We note that the consular section in Florence has two officers and six LE staff. The consular section in Rome is not much bigger with two and a half ELOs, two mid-level supervisors, and the section chief.
Via US Embassy Rome
Rome, January 14, 2012
The United States Embassy in Rome sends its condolences to the families of those passengers of the Costa Concordia cruise ship who died in a shipwreck off the coast of Tuscany early this morning.The American Citizens Services Units for Rome and Florence respectively also have email inquiry addresses but I don't know how well these accounts are monitored:
The welfare of American citizens in Italy is the highest priority of the U.S. Embassy in Rome, and the U.S. Embassy in Rome and the U.S. Consulate in Florence are working with local officials and the families of the passengers to provide assistance to Americans affected by the accident.
The U.S. Embassy has established an emergency response team. Concerned Americans may call +39 06 4674 1 for emergency information.
Based on information provided by local authorities, the US Embassy estimates 130 Americans may have been on board.
As of 5:00 pm local time, there are no reports of serious injuries to American citizens, though we cannot yet account for all Americans believed to have been present on the ship at the time of the accident.
Further information will be posted on Twitter @AmbasciataUSA and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ambasciatausa
Rome: uscitizensrome@state.gov
Florence: uscitizensflorence@state.gov
The Carnival company has released the following country-specific contact numbers to reach Costa Cruises:
U.S. 800-462-6782Update 1/16:
Italy 848505050
Austria 00438109006565
Germany +4940570121314
France +33155475554
Spain +34934875685
Portugal +34914185951
UK 08453510552
The US Embassy in Rome has revised the estimated number of Americans aboard the #Costa #Concordia down to 120, of which 118 have been accounted for. It is also using Twitter for help in locating retired Minnesota couple, Gerald and Barbara Heil believed to be passengers of Costa Concordia and are unaccounted for. Email any info to ItalyConcordiaUSC@state.gov.
No comments:
Post a Comment