16-Jan-2012 - Britons on stricken cruise ship

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14 January 2012 Last updated at 17:18 GMT Britons on board stricken Costa Concordia ship off Italy Several Britons are thought to have been on board a cruise ship which ran aground off the Italian coast, leaving at least three people dead. The Costa Concordia hit a sandbar on Friday evening near the island of Giglio and listed about 20 degrees. The Foreign Office said it was unclear how many UK nationals were among the 3,200 passengers. It has set up a phone line for people who are concerned about their relatives and is offering advice on its website. About 70 people have not yet been accounted for but Italian officials suggest that may be because the passenger list is not fully up to date. The three dead were said to be two French passengers and one Peruvian crew member, according to Italian media reports. A Foreign Office spokesman said he had no details of any British casualties. Staff from the embassy in Rome has arrived in the area and are providing consular assistance. Anyone concerned about British passengers should contact either the British Embassy in Rome on +39 06 4220 0001 or the Foreign Office in London on 0207 008 studio white diamond headphone 1500. 'Lucky to be alive' Many people swam ashore or boarded lifeboats but rescue teams are still checking cabins. A number of British entertainers and dancers are thought to be among the 1,000-strong crew. Sandra Cook told BBC News that her daughter Kirsty, who was one of eight British dancers working on the ship, escaped by climbing down a rope ladder into another boat. "I asked whether she had anything. She'd lost everything and she said that she was lucky to be alive and very thankful," said Mrs Cook, who spoke to her daughter earlier. Fabio Costa, who worked in a shop on the ship, told the BBC those on board felt the boat hitting something, then "everything just started to fall" and "all the glasses broke". "Everybody started to panic and run," he said. Travel journalist Simon Calder said the accident echoed the sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago. He told the BBC: "We've had stories of people jumping into the water and I dare say the behaviour of some people monster beats studio limited edition headphone grey would have been informed by their visions of that awful night in the Atlantic. "What is going to trouble the entire cruise community is how you get any fatalities at all given this was an absolutely routine cruise through relatively calm waters and something has clearly gone horribly wrong with the evacuation." Costa Cruises, the company which owns the ship, said it could not yet say what had caused the accident. "The gradual listing of the ship made the evacuation extremely difficult," a statement said. "The position of the ship, which is worsening, is making more difficult the last part of the evacuation." One of those on board was Rose Metcalf, a 22-year-old cabaret dancer from Witchampton, Dorset. Her father Philip Metcalf said his daughter, who was not hurt, had been airlifted to an air base in the Tuscany region of Italy. "The ship had rolled on its side so she was ready to jump in the water," he said, adding that his daughter told him conditions had been "cold and dark". The Passenger Shipping Association said its thoughts were with those passengers and crew involved with Costa Concordia. It added that incidents of this nature were "isolated and very rare". In a statement it said: "Ships' crews undertake rigorous training, drills and scenarios for emergency situations including the evacuation of a vessel. The ships themselves comply with stringent regulations and procedures from the governing maritime authorities covering every aspect of their build and operation. "While the focus should rightly be on attending to the immediate incident at hand there will, of course, be a full and thorough investigation into the causes of this event and the full cooperation of both the company and the wider industry is assured." Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here. Read the terms and conditions (Required) Name (Required) Your E-mail address (Required) Town & Country (Required) Your telephone number (Required) Comments If you are happy to be contacted by a BBC journalist please leave a telephone number that we can contact Blue studio limited edition headphone you on. In some cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name as you provide it and location, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. When sending us pictures, video or eyewitness accounts at no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. Please ensure you have read the terms and conditions. Terms and conditions Send Clear

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