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Names of 108 Russian tourists from Costa Concordia liner determined

The tourists are “safe and sound”, they are under stress

MOSCOW, January 14 (Itar-Tass) — The names of 108 Russian tourists from the Costa Concordia cruise ship have been determined and practically all of them have been provided with free-of-charge accommodation in Italy, the spokesman for the Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism), Oleg Moseyev, said.

“The list we have just received from the Consulate General in Genoa names 108 Russian tourists who travelled aboard the Costa Concordia cruise ship,” Moseyev told Itar-Tass on Saturday, January 14, adding that these “figures are not final because Russians might also be among the crew and personnel, but we are not sure yet”.

“Almost all tourists have been accommodated in hotels in different Italian cities and towns free of charge, with all room and board expenses to be met by the company Costa Cruise,” he said.

Moseyev said “the tourists are “safe and sound”, but admitted that they are under stress. However “we are not aware of any serious injuries received by the Russian tourists as a result of the accident,” he said.

There were also Kazakh and Ukrainian tourists aboard the liner. None of the three Kazakhstani tourists were injured, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ilyas Omarov said.

The Kazakhstani consul has left for the scene of the accident to help his fellow citizens who can return home on Sunday, January 15.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said there were about 30 Ukrainians aboard the cruise ship and reportedly none of them were injured.

According to official reports, 3 people died, 15 people were injured and 70 are missing after the Costa Concordia ran aground off the island of Giglio last night. There were 4,299 people aboard. Some people jumped overboard and swam to shore as the cruise ship took on a 20 degree list to starboard and appeared to be in danger of sinking. Others were evacuated by boats.

The Costa Concordia was newly built in 2006. When constructed it was the largest Italian ship in history. The ship measures 952 feet in length and has a beam of 116 feet. The cruise had begun two hours earlier sailing from the Italian port of Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, on a 7-day cruise scheduled to visit Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Caligari, and Palermo, the Maritime Matters reports.

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