Details emerge on missing and dead in Italian cruise disaster

Details are beginning to emerge on the 11 people confirmed dead and the 21 people still unaccounted for in the Italian cruise disaster.Police say among the dead is a Hungarian musician who helped crying

News 12 Staff

Jan 19, 2012, 4:11 AM

Updated 4,648 days ago

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Details are beginning to emerge on the 11 people confirmed dead and the 21 people still unaccounted for in the Italian cruise disaster.Police say among the dead is a Hungarian musician who helped crying children into lifejackets, then disappeared while trying to retrieve his beloved violin from his cabin. Sandor Feher, 38, had been working as an entertainer on the ship.Among the missing are an Italian dad and his 5-year-old daughter, and a retired American couple who were treating themselves after putting four children through college.The $450 million Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it slammed into a reef and capsized Friday after the captain made an unauthorized diversion from his programmed route and strayed into the perilous waters. The captain of the ill-fated ship was quoted today as saying he tripped and fell into the water from the listing vessel and never intended to abandon his passengers. Capt. Francesco Schettino, who was jailed after he left the ship before everyone was safely evacuated, was placed under house arrest Tuesday, facing possible charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship. The ship's operator, Crociere Costa SpA, has accused Schettino of causing the wreck by making the unapproved detour, and the captain has acknowledged carrying out what he called a "tourist navigation" that brought the ship closer to Giglio.AP wire services contributed to this report.