The Costa Concordia had departed from Civitavecchia on a tour of the Mediterranean.4,234 people on board. "Costa Concordia" strikes a rock and water to embark on a leanside.

Drowned two French tourists and a Peruvian member of staff. There are fears for the fate of 41 people not yet traced. Patches of at least 70 meters along the side.

The commander also accused of abandoning ship, "That rock is not on the charts." Survivors of the disaster tonight told of a 'chaotic evacuation' after the the ship started to list, with some crew members even telling holidaymakers to return to their cabins.

Captain Schettino today told maritime investigators that charts showed he was in waters deep enough to navigate, but reports emerged that the boat was four miles off course when it ran aground. Three people – two French passengers and a Peruvian crewman – have been confirmed dead after the Costa Concordia hit a sandbar on Friday evening near the Tuscan holiday island of Giglio, less than two hours after leaving port. "It was so unorganised. Our evacuation drill was scheduled for 5pm," said Melissa Goduti, 28, of Wallingford, Connecticut, in the US. "We had joked what if something had happened today [Friday]." Passenger Mara Parmegiani told Ansa that "it was like a scene from the Titanic".

Dancer Rose Metcalf, from Dorset, today told how she had to cling on to a fire hose strung to some railings to stop her from falling overboard. The 22-year-old was working on board the Costa Concordia as a cabaret performer when it hit rocks and rolled on to its side. She called her father Philip in the early hours of this morning to tell him she was safe after being one of the last five people to be rescued from the ship as she was a member of staff.

Passengers complained the crew failed to give instructions on how to evacuate and once the emergency became clear, delayed lowering the lifeboats until the ship was listing too heavily for many of them to be released. Mrs Ananias said: 'I grabbed the baby. But then I was being pushed down.

I didn't want the baby to fall down the stairs. I gave the baby back. I couldn't hold her. 'I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby,' she said. The family said they were some of the last off the ship, forced to shimmy along a rope down the exposed side of the ship to a waiting rescue vessel.

Survivor Christine Hammer, from Bonn, Germany, shivered near the harbor of Porto Santo Stefano, on the mainland, after stepping off a ferry from Giglio. The cruise company added: "We would like to express our profound gratitude to the coast guard and all the forces co-ordinated by the coast guard, who have been involved in the rescue and assistance to guests and crew members.

"The company will fully co-operate with the relevant authorities in order to determine the causes of what happened." Costa said he saw a huge rock, which is probably what the vessel struck. "People were having huge trouble trying to get on the lifeboats. So at that point we didn't know what to do so it took hours for people to get off the ship. [photo mirror]

Here is the message of the company Costa Cruises Blog:

"It 'a tragedy that deeply affects our company. Our first thoughts are with the victims, and we want to express our condolences and our closeness to their family and friends. At this moment all our efforts are concentrated in the last emergency operations, as well as offering assistance to guests and crew who were aboard the ship, to bring them back home as soon as possible. emergency procedures were immediately taken to evacuate the ship. the inclination has progressively taken the ship has made the evacuation extremely difficult. we want to express profound and heartfelt thanks to the Coast Guard and the forces it coordinates, including the authorities and citizens of the island of Giglio, who has been provided in the rescue and care for the guests and crew. the company will work with the highest availability with the relevant authorities to verify the causes of the event "

TRAGEDY AT SEA: OTHER FAMOUS VESSEL DISASTERS 

July 10, 2011: An overloaded cruise vessel sinks in Russia's Volga River near Kazan, killing 122 people.

June 21, 2008: The Princess of the Stars ferry suddenly tilts and capsizes off the coast of the Philippines during a powerful typhoon. More than 800 die.

Feb 3, 2006: After a fire breaks out during a Red Sea ferry voyage from Saudi Arabia to the Egyptian port of Safaga, more than 1,000 people drown.

Sept 26, 2002: Senegalese ferry capsizes in a storm off Gambia, killing more than 1,800 people.

May 21, 1996: A ferry sinks in Lake Victoria in east Africa, killing more than 800 people.

Sept 28, 1994: The ferry Estonia sinks during a storm in the Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.

Feb 16, 1993: Overcrowded ferry sinks between Jeremie and Port-au-Prince, Haiti, estimated 500-700 dead.

April 7, 1990: Fires set by an arsonist break out on the Scandinavian Star ferry in the North Sea en route from Oslo to Fredrikshavn, Denmark, killing 159 people.

Dec 20, 1987: In the world's worst peacetime shipping disaster, 4,340 drown when the ferry Dona Paz collides with the tanker MT Victor in the Philippines.

Aug 31, 1986: Soviet passenger ship Admiral Nakhimov collides with a merchant vessel in the Black Sea, sinking both ships and killing up to 448 people.

May 25, 1986: Some 600 people die when a ferry goes down in the River Meghna in Bangladesh.

Jan 27, 1981: 580 killed when Indonesian passenger ship Tamponas II catches fire and sinks in Java sea.

July 25, 1956: Two passenger liners, the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm, collide off Massachusetts, sinking the Andrea Doria and killing 46 of its 1,706 passengers and crew.

May 29, 1914: A Canadian Pacific steamship, the Empress of Ireland, collides with a Norwegian freighter near Quebec, sinking in 14 minutes and killing 1,012 people.

April 12, 1912: The Titanic the world's largest passenger steamship at the time, strikes an iceberg in the Atlantic and sinks on its maiden voyage, killing at least 1,496 people.