A GROUP OF survivors from the Costa Concordia tragedy are set to sue the company that owns the cruise liner for $460 million (€350 million) in damages.
Six passengers are launching the multi-million euro lawsuit against Costa Cruise lines and its parent company Carnival Corp following the disaster off the Italian coast. The lawyer representing the group says that the stress of the experience will never leave his clients, Sky News reports.
The company announced last week that it would offer €11,000 to each passenger in compensation and – following negotiations – also agreed to refund medical and transport costs and the price of the cruise itself.
The vessel, which was carrying 4,200 people, ran aground off the Italian island of Giglio on 13 January. The evacuation procedure was condemned as chaotic by many survivors and the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, remains under house arrest after being accused of abandoning ship before the evacuation was complete.
On Saturday, the body of another person was recovered from the ship, bringing the confirmed death toll to 17. A further 15 remain missing, presumed dead. Fears have also been raised that a number of clandestine passengers may have been aboard the vessel when it sank.
Meanwhile, Italy’s top rescue official Franco Gabrielli has estimated that it could take up to ten months to recover the 114,500-tonne capsized cruise ship, the BBC reports.
On Friday, Dutch salvage company Smit began to remove more than 2,300 tonnes of fuel from the ship, however fears about a possible leak have now pushed back the operation until next week.
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