Europe News
Italian president attends memorial mass for Costa Concordia victims
Feb 12, 2012, 10:31 GMT
Rome - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and other senior officials on Sunday attended a memorial mass in Rome for the victims of last month's shipwreck of the Costa Concordia.
The mass in the central Basilica of St Mary of the Angels was presided over by the secretary general of Italy's Catholic episcopal council, Bishop Mariano Crociata.
The Costa Concordia ran aground on the night of January 13 near the island of Giglio off Italy's western coast.
To date, 17 people have been certified dead from the disaster, while 15 remain unaccounted for.
The Costa Concordia, which was carrying around 4,200 passengers, was already listing heavily when an evacuation order was issued around an hour after the accident took place, officials say.
The cruise ship's captain Francesco Schettino is currently under house arrest and faces charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship before all passengers and crew were evacuated.
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