Costa Concordia search abandoned

Underwater search of bodies on the stranded Italian cruise is abandoned due to deteriorating condition of the waters.


Fifteen people are still missing after the vessel crashed into rocks earlier this month, with 17 confirmed dead. Inspection of the part of the ship that is above the water line however is going to continue and specialist equipment is going to be used to look for dead bodies on the sea bed.


The conditions inside the ship have been described as tricky, with dives "limited to a maximun of 50 minutes, making it difficult to penetrate far into the vessel" (BBC News).


The ship itself cannot be moved safely until the fuel is pumped out, the latter being hampered by bad weather.