Crew of sinking ship recalls last moments
A rough sea and the resultant roll of the ship is a routine affair for sailors. But when Costa Concordia was rolling violently, the crew suspected something was wrong. When ships tilt to one side, they would automatically straighten up again. But the luxury liner did not.
“It continued to tilt. We knew something was seriously wrong. By the time we rushed to the emergency boats, passengers were already lined up there. I can't forget those moments,” recalls Jonathan Paturi, a third chef of Costa Concordia that ran aground off Giglio island of Italy on Friday evening.
Mr. Paturi, a third chef on the luxury cruise, told The Hindu over phone from Rome that there were about 300 Indians working on the luxury liner and eight hailed from Andhra Pradesh. There were four or five Indian passengers too.
“As sirens began blaring we rushed out and launched the life boats. Technically, the life boats cannot be launched till the captain orders but the situation was such that we launched them without any orders and began ferrying passengers to the coast. The passengers were terrified but cooperated with us by following instructions,” Mr. Paturi recalled.
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