Time running out as rescuers resume search

GIGLIO, Italy, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- An Italian official said time was running out as divers Thursday resumed the search for 22 missing from the crippled Costa Concordia cruise ship.

Environment Minister Corrado Clini said he fears the capsized vessel could slip off the rocky ledge on which it is balancing and sink entirely or its fuel tanks, carrying roughly 2,300 tons of fuel, could rupture, ANSA reported Thursday.

"I'm not calm at all," said Clini. "Our time is very limited."

At least 11 people are dead after the ship carrying 4,200 passengers and crew capsized last Friday off the coast of Tuscany.

A fuel tank rupture would cause an environmental disaster and block the ability of divers to continue their search for the 22 people who were still missing after nearly a week. Explosives are being used to blast holes in the hull of the ship to allow for better access for rescuers.

Francesco Schettino, the cruise liner captain accused of abandoning the vessel while passengers were still aboard, said he "tripped" and fell into a lifeboat while trying to help evacuate the ship, The Daily Telegraph (Britain) reported.

Schettino, 52, said there was nothing he could do to get back on board once he had tumbled off the ship.

He told investigators he had made a mistake when he brought the ship close to the island of Giglio in an effort to "salute" a friend but turned too late and ending up in shallow water where the ship struck a rocky outcrop.

Colleagues accused Schettino of treating the ship like a sports car and accused him of being a daredevil, the newspaper said.