Everything about of mv Costa Concordia_

At least 17 people died after the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground with more than 4,000 passengers and crew on 13 January, only hours after leaving the Italian port of Civitavecchia. The maps and graphics below reveal details about the vessel and its ill-fated journey.

The Costa Concordia left Civitavecchia at about 7:33pm local time (1833 GMT). Automatic positioning data from Dutch firm QPS shows how the ship sails towards the island of Giglio - and what happens next.

QPS reconstruction of the Concordia's final minutes

At about 9:40pm, nearly three hours after leaving port, the Costa Concordia hit a rocky outcrop as it sailed past the island of Giglio. The ship was holed on the left-hand side and began to tilt as it started taking on water.

Costa Concordia crew member tells coastguard "we have a blackout"

The positioning data shows the captain tried to turn the Costa Concordia back towards the island's port soon after 10:00pm. It seems the ship then began to list in the opposite direction, possibly caused by water in the damaged hull rushing to the far side during the turn.

At 10:12pm, the coastguard called the crew after passengers contacted police on land to say the ship had experienced problems. In a recording of the conversation, the crew member can be heard saying: "We have a blackout and we are checking the conditions on board."

As the ship lay sideways on the island's rocks, the abandon ship order was given at 10:58pm, according to the official charge sheet.

Most passengers escaped in lifeboats, but evacuation efforts were hampered by the angle of the tilting ship. The coastguard launched boats and helicopters to carry stranded passengers to safety.

The captain is reported to have left the ship in a lifeboat before all the passengers had been rescued. In another conversation, recorded at12:42am, a coastguard commander ordered the captain to get back on board. He did not, and went ashore.

The rescue continued over the weekend, with the ship's safety officer, Marrico Giampietroni, being discovered and evacuated with a broken leg at 12:00pm on Sunday. A South Korean couple were also rescued.

A recording has been released in which the coastguard is heard ordering the captain to 'get back on board'

Date: 2015-02-16; view: 1604