Posted on 03/10/2012 8:27:57 AM PST by cutty
Coast guards in Italy have used helicopters to rescue the crew of a cargo ship after it ran aground on a reef off Sicily in stormy seas.
All 19 crew members were ferried to shore by helicopters after the captain of the Gelso M gave the order to abandon ship.
...
Rescue service sources quoted by the agency suggested that, given the weather conditions, the captain had been sailing too close to the coast.
The incident comes two months after the cruise ship Costa Concordia hit rocks off the island of Giglio on Italy's west coast, capsizing with the loss of 32 lives.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
The Italian government may well be overstaffed, but the Coast Guard has certainly been earning its keep over there lately.
Most people are probably like me, and think of the Med as a big lake. Who knew it could have storms that bad?
wrecks happen.
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