Costa Concordia victim died after she gave life jacket to elderly man
- On 03/02/2012
- In Maritime News
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By Josephine McKenna - The Telegraph
Young Peruvian waitress Erika Fani Soriamolina, whose body was recovered from the shipwrecked Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, has been hailed a heroine.
Erika Fani Soriamolina's body was found by divers on the sixth deck of the vessel wearing the ship's uniform but no life jacket.
Witnesses said Soriamolina had helped dozens of terrified passengers into lifeboats on the night of the disaster before giving the life jacket to an elderly man.
A tourism graduate, Soriamolina was working on only her third cruise on the Costa Concordia .
The recovery of the young woman's body ended a desperate search by her parents and sister Madeleine who were among the family members of passengers and crew waiting for news of their loved ones on Giglio.
On Saturday the body of a woman found several days ago was identified as German passenger Inge Shall.
Seventeen people are now confirmed dead after the cruise ship struck rocks and ran aground on January 13 with 4,200 passengers and crew on board and more than 15 people are still missing.
The 17-deck Costa Concordia was run aground in the rocky bay about an hour after its captain, Francesco Schettino, misjudged a 'sail-past' of the Italian island of Giglio and rammed it into rocks, ripping a massive tear in its hull.
Schettino is under house arrest at his home near Sorrento, accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship along with first officer Ciro Ambrosio.
Meanwhile, there were fresh concerns on Sunday about a potential environmental disaster after experts discovered the ship had moved 1.4 inches over a six-hour period from midnight to 6am.
Costa Concordia Italy Giglio island maritime disaster
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