ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
At least three people were killed and rescuers were looking for other victims on Saturday (January 13) after a large Italian cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people ran aground overnight, took on water and tipped over.
A dramatic nighttime rescue operation involving lifeboats, ships and helicopters was continuing hours after the 114,500 gross tonnes Costa Concordia hit a sandbar near the island of Giglio as passengers were eating dinner.
Passengers said there was was a lot of panic when they heard a loud bang. Dinner tables toppled over, glasses were flying all over the place and people ran for the decks where they donned life vests.
Pictures taken by rescued passengers after daybreak and broadcast on television showed the shiny, multi-story luxury vessel on its side and about half submerged on the sandbar just a few hundred metres from Giglio.
The coast guard and police say three people were confirmed dead, fewer than the six reported earlier by Italian media.
But rescue workers were still searching the ship, which had just started a winter Mediterranean cruise.
Some people had jumped off the ship while it was listing, a police official said.
Most of the 3,200 passengers and 1,023 crew on board the ship had been evacuated to the island of Giglio and from there were being taken to the mainland, with only some blankets to protect them from the cold.
The cruise ship company said the cause of the incident was being investigated.