Tomorrow, January 13 2017, will mark the fifth anniversary of the sinking of the cruise ship Costa Concordia near Giglio Island in which 32 people lost their lives. The youngest among the victims was a 5-year-old girl Dayana Arlotti who died together with her father William Arlotti. In stark contrast with the cowardly behavior of the Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino, here are some of the stories of courage and heroism aboard the striken cruiser on that fateful day.
The Heroes
Among the victims was the crew member Giuseppe Girolamo. When he was ordered to abandon the ship, Giuseppe did not think twice, sacrificing his own life for saving a child, by giving his place in a lifeboat. His body was found two months later, in the wreck.
The Bulgarian ship technician Petar Petrov saved over 500 crew and passengers on Costa Concordia. When the vessel ran aground he made six round trips with the lifeboat which holds 150 people. He manage to transfer to safety more than 500 survivors, and was one of the last three crew members that did not leave the ship until the Italian Coast Guard took over. Mr. Petrov was awarded medal for European Citizen by the European Parliament for his unselfish act of courage and heroism.
Ship's purser Manrico Giampedroni, helped load hundreds of people into lifeboats and continued to search the decks for more survivors until he fell, broke a leg and remained trapped in a submerged area of the ship. Luckly Mr. Giampedroni was rescued after a 36-hour nightmare.
The Peruvian cleaning supervisor, Tomás Alberto Costilla Mendoza helped a group of passengers to get into a lifeboat after he fell into the cold waters, and died from hypothermia.
Sandor Feher, a 38-year-old Hungarian violinist who was part of the ships crew, helped several children put on their lifejackets before returning to the cabin to retrieve his violin. He was later found dead in the lower deck’s.
The Victims
- Costa Concordia Crew Members
- Erika Fani Soriamolina - crew member, waitress, Peru
- Girolamo Giuseppe - staff musician, Italy
- Russel Terence Rebello - crew member, waiter, India
- Sandor Feher - Staff musician, Hungary
- Tomas Alberto Costilla Mendoza –crew
- Costa Concordia Guests
- Michael Blemand - France
- Jean-Pierre Micheaud - France
- Mylene Litzler - France
- Francis Servel - France
- Pierre Gregoire - France
- Jeannette Gannard - France
- Margrit Schoeter - Germany
- Josef Werp - Germany
- Margarethe Neth - Germany
- Norbert Joseph Ganz - Germany
- Horst Galle - Germany
- Egon Hoer - Germany
- Elilsabeth Bauer - Germany
- Inge Schall - Germany
- Brunhilde Werp - Germany
- Christina Mathi Ganz - Germany
- Siglinde Stumpf - Germany
- Gabriel Grube - Germany
- Luisa Antonio Virzi - Italy
- Maria D'Introna - Italy
- Maria Grazia Trecarichi - Italy
- William Arlotti – Italy
- Dayana Arlotti - Italy
- Giovanni Masia - Italy
- Gual Guillermo - Italy
- Gerald 'Jerry' Heil - Minnesota, USA
- Barbara Heil - Minnesota, USA
- You will never be forgotten
The Coward
Named "Captain Coward" by the international press, Captain Schettino watched the rescue operations and sinking of his ship from the reef, where he had disembarked after having, somehow "fallen into a lifeboat" . In February 2015, he was found guilty of manslaughter and abandoning ship and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
