ROME - The Italian government on Friday declared a state of emergency on the disastrous wreck of cruise liner Costa Concordia.
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Firefighters approach the side of the Costa Concordia cruise ship which ran aground off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island January 19, 2012. [Photo/Agencies] |
There are fears of environmental disaster as sea storms may push the 290-meter-long ship, which ran aground last Friday killing at least 11 people into deeper water causing fuel leaks from its tanks.
A specialist team from Dutch company SMIT is preparing to pump 2,400 tons of fuels from the vessel tanks, which will take at least one month, according to local authorities.