Costa Concordia Sinks After Hitting Rock off Italy's West Coast

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The Costa Concordia, a luxury liner owned by Carnival Corporation, struck a reef, rolled on its side, and sank off of the small island of Giglio, Italy, early Saturday. The ship was carrying 4,324 passengers, many of whom were dining when the ship hit a rock that ripped a huge gash in the hull.

Network news aired interviews with passengers who said that crew members told passengers them that a technical problem caused the ship to list, hurtling dishes, meals, and glasses to the floor. Approximately an hour later, passengers learned the truth that the ship was sinking. The delay in evacuation orders caused chaos, producing an "every man for himself" attempt to flee to safety.

Investigators believe the ship was traveling too close to the shore when it hit the rock. The captain of the ship, Francesco Schettino, insists the rock was unmarked. He is being held by authorities who could charge him with manslaughter and abandoning his ship.

In the first reports about the disaster, forty people were reported missing. By this morning, that number had decreased to seventeen. Five people have been found dead and three were recently rescued. Rescuers found a South Korean  honeymooning couple in their cabin, and a crew member was hoisted to safety by helicopter this morning.

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Comparisons can be drawn between the Costa Concordia disaster and that of the Titanic. The similarity in delaying "abandon ship" announcements definitely caused unnecessary chaos and loss of lives. While few survived the sinking of the Titanic, most passengers from the Costa Concordia are alive today. Eventually, crew member error might account for the ship hitting a rock, which would also compare to the truth about the Titanic revealed last year by Louise Patten, an author whose grandfather was aboard on its maiden voyage.

She said her grandfather, Charles Lightoller, was Second Officer on board the ship and told his wife, Patten's grandmother, an order to steer the ship away from the danger was misunderstood. At the time, different steering systems were used for steam ships and sailing ships, and her grandfather claimed it produced confusion when an order to turn the ship to starboard was given. Patten explained the two steering systems operated exactly opposite of one another. A "hard a-starboard" command meant turn the wheel right under one system and left under the other. The steersman turned the wheel the wrong way, which put the Titanic on a collision course with the iceberg.