Families of Indians aboard Costa Concordia concerned over kins fate

Hyderabad/Thane, Jan 18 (ANI): Last week's accident of the Costa Concordia liner off the west coast of Italy has created major worries for the families of the 130 Indians who were on board the ship.

In Hyderabad, P Solomon Raju, the father of Jonathan Paturi a chef aboard the ill-fated ship said on Tuesday that the Indian Embassy officials in Italy had made a bizarrely slow reaction to the incident.

"Whether it was the weekend, or Makar Sankranti, I don't know the reason for the embassy officials' delay. None of the people got any help. They came later, a day and a half after the accident. The passports we will have to get here itself. For now they will issue 'lost' certificates and send them here. Since the people are in shock, it is their responsibility to send them to the airport," said Raju.

In Thane, the parents of photographer Mayur Kadam said that all they wanted was safe transit for their son.

"We would like the Indian Government that our son, who is so far away, comes back as soon as possible. We will appreciate it since that is our only solution," said Mayur's mother Jaishree Kadam.

The Italian liner capsized on the night of January 13 after it struck near a reef of the port of Isola del Giglio, an island in a maritime nature reserve off the Tuscan coast.

Rescue workers searching the half-submerged ship for missing passengers and crew recovered a sixth body on Monday, more than 48 hours after the vessel capsized.

The captain of the 114,500-tonne Costa Concordia, arrested on Saturday, has been accused of manslaughter and abandoning his ship before all of the more than 4,200 people on board had been evacuated. (ANI)