Three dead and around 70 missing after cruise ship sinks - source the sun

Three dead and around 70 missing after cruise ship sinks

Panic as people jump into cold night sea

Brits flee Med terror ... 4,200 on holed liner

THREE people have been confirmed dead and at least 70 are missing after a packed cruise ship began sinking off the Italian coast last night — with 25 British holidaymakers on board.
Three bodies have been pulled from the sea, Italian coastguards said. At least three more people who jumped overboard are also thought to have perished as panic spread through the Costa Concordia.
One victim was a man in his 70s who jumped into the icy waters and died of a heart attack caused by the shock to his system.

Disaster ... Costa Concordia partially submerged

Over thirty people were injured in the horror, several with serious wounds. Divers were working to establish whether anyone was trapped in the submerged part of the ship after a rock tore a 160ft gash in the hull.
A huge rock was embedded in the side of the ship towards the stern.
Most the 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew were thought to have been rescued from the 950ft liner early this morning.

Gaping hole ... rock that tore 160ft gash into the ship's hull

According to the reports, Costa Cruises confirmed the 37 Britons on board - including 12 crew - were safe. The dead were later said to be two French passengers and one Peruvian crew member.
Survivors were first taken to the nearby island off Giglio — off the Tuscan coast — before being transferred to the mainland.