Italian Cruise Ship Wreck: Search Operations Resume
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ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images(GIGLIO, Italy) — Divers will be back in the water off the coast of Tuscany Thursday morning, resuming their search of the partially capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia, an Italian Coast Guard spokesman confirmed to ABC News.
On Wednesday, search and recovery operations were suspended because officials believed the vessel was moving. The Coast Guard placed sensors around the ship to determine if and how much the cruise liner was moving before assessing it was safe to go back in.
At least 11 people were killed in the wreck and 21 others remain missing.
When the search is complete, the focus will shift to pumping fuel out of the stricken ship, officials tell ABC News. The vessel is currently parked on protected waters — a sanctuary for whales and dolphins. In anticipation of a possible environmental disaster, booms were laid out earlier around the entire area as a precautionary measure.
So far, all 17 fuel tanks on board the ship are intact, officials say.
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