Cruise Ship Runs Aground Off Italy

At least three people are confirmed dead and many are reported missing after a cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people ran aground off the coast of Italy.

The "Costa Concordia" hit a sandbar on the evening of January 13 near the island of Giglio.

Emergency teams are reportedly still looking for 40 people believed to be missing, with divers searching rooms on the stricken ship.

Ennio Aquilini, the head of the Italian fire brigade rescue operations at the site, said there’s confusion about the exact number of people unaccounted for.

"It is clear we are not sure [of those missing], we have made a double check of passengers here and when they came off. We are not sure of the numbers, we cannot exclude that some people are missing, in fact it is very probable," Aquilini said.

"But the numbers that are being given out are from a fantasy land at the moment. We, at this moment, cannot give out any numbers. It could be 10, 20, up to 40, but I cannot give anything more precise."

Most of the evacuees reached land by lifeboats, but some had to swim to shore.

It’s still not clear what caused the accident.

Investigators have said they will give particular attention to examining the ship’s electrical systems.

compiled from agency reports