€10 for boat tour of Costa Concordia wreck
Tourists can now pay €10 to have a boat tour around the wreck of the Costa Concordia, a new venture since the cruise ship was taken to Genoa in July to be scrapped.
Just weeks after the Costa Concordia was dragged from Tuscany’s Giglio island, where it has rested since crashing in January 2012, the ill-fated cruise ship has become a tourist attraction in another part of Italy.
Tourists at the port of Voltri, north-west Italy, can now pay €10 to take their own mini-cruise of the wreck.
The boats go within 200 metres of the Costa Concordia as a guide recounts the story of the tragedy, Tgcom24 reported.
Thirty-two people were killed when the cruise ship struck the rocks of Giglio, leading to the world’s largest maritime salvage operation.
Francesco Schettino - dubbed “Captain Coward” for allegedly abandoning ship while passengers were still on board - is being tried for manslaughter over the deaths and could face up to 20 years in prison.
Despite the criminal case against him, Schettino last month gave a lecture to university students on best emergency practices.
READ MORE: Outrage as Concordia skipper gives safety talk
He has continued to assert his innocence, this week saying his should not be blamed for the crash.
“It was an accident, a cursed accident. Even today it’s a wound that’s difficult to heal. But they can’t place all the blame on me,” Schettino was quoted by Ansa as saying.
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Just weeks after the Costa Concordia was dragged from Tuscany’s Giglio island, where it has rested since crashing in January 2012, the ill-fated cruise ship has become a tourist attraction in another part of Italy.
Tourists at the port of Voltri, north-west Italy, can now pay €10 to take their own mini-cruise of the wreck.
The boats go within 200 metres of the Costa Concordia as a guide recounts the story of the tragedy, Tgcom24 reported.
Thirty-two people were killed when the cruise ship struck the rocks of Giglio, leading to the world’s largest maritime salvage operation.
Francesco Schettino - dubbed “Captain Coward” for allegedly abandoning ship while passengers were still on board - is being tried for manslaughter over the deaths and could face up to 20 years in prison.
Despite the criminal case against him, Schettino last month gave a lecture to university students on best emergency practices.
READ MORE: Outrage as Concordia skipper gives safety talk
He has continued to assert his innocence, this week saying his should not be blamed for the crash.
“It was an accident, a cursed accident. Even today it’s a wound that’s difficult to heal. But they can’t place all the blame on me,” Schettino was quoted by Ansa as saying.
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