Gay Texas Couple Survive Italian Cruise Ship Disaster
A gay couple from Austin, Texas, were among those who survived the sinking of
the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the coast of Italy over the weekend.
Blake Miller, left, and Steve Garcia. It was both men’s first cruise and Miller’s first time in Europe. They
told the Today show on Sunday they had been to one of the ship’s bars
and were planning on going to another when the ship started to list.
After they went back to their cabin, they heard a horrible scraping
sound. Fortunately the couple had read about the location of the
lifeboats. – See why it is important to pay attention to safety features?!
Read more at Dallas Voice
*The captain of the ship is being
interrogated by prosecutors and a judge will decide on whether to keep
him under arrest for allegedly abandoning the vessel before rescue
efforts ended.
Cptn. Francesco Schettino was ordered by a Coast Guard official to return to the cruise
liner to help with rescue efforts about three hours after the accident,
according to audio of telephone conversations between them posted on
daily Corriere della Sera’s website today.
Schettino didn’t return to the ship and took a taxi on Giglio before
being arrested, media including Sky TG24 said. He is accused of
manslaughter and abandoning the Costa Concordia when passengers were
still on board “since we know he was in the harbor about midnight,”
Francesco Verusio, chief prosecutor in Grosseto, said in a Jan. 15
interview. He is also accused of causing the accident that left at least
six people dead.
