Written by Erik Reed. Media by Mikey Courtney.
January 13, 2012: a date that all of the survivors of the Costa Concordia will never forget. 32 people met their fates after the ship ran aground off the coast of Giglio, which is off the western coast of Italy, and the liner’s captain, Francesco Schettino was arrested for manslaughter and abandoning ship.
On September 17, 2013, the Costa Concordia was set upright in the early hours of the morning and the damage inflicted on the hull was evident to all onlookers and salvage workers. The salvaging started on Monday morning and lasted through the day until the ship was set upright after 20 months of being capsized. Engineers had originally planned to complete the operation before evening set, but delayed it by three hours because of a storm. The salvage effort has cost more than $800 million and is expected to cost much more before the effort is finished.
Two of the thirty-two that perished in the disaster, one Italian passenger and one Indian crew member, are still missing. As for Captain Schettino, he is still on trial and stands accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship.
