Italian search and rescue teams located three survivors, a South Korean couple and the ship’s purser, inside the half-submerged Costa Concordia, which ran aground and collided with a large rock on Friday near the island of Giglio.
The Italian Coast Guard said that the ship, carrying 4,228 passengers and crew, was 2.5 miles off course when the collision caused a 150-foot gash in its hull.
Costa Cruises, the Carnival Corp. brand that owns and operates the ship, has not addressed whether it was sailing on or off course.
According to earlier reports, Italy’s Coast Guard has recovered three bodies from the sea, and dozens were still unaccounted for on Sunday morning.
The Costa Concordia had embarked passengers in Civitavecchia, Italy, earlier on Friday and was bound for a port call in Savona, Italy — a frequently traveled route for Costa and other cruise lines.
"On the basis of the initial evidence — still preliminary — Costa Concordia, under the command of Master Francesco Schettino, was sailing its regularly scheduled itinerary from Civitavecchia to Savona, Italy, when the ship struck a submerged rock,” Costa said in a statement Saturday.
"Captain Schettino, who was on the bridge at the time, immediately understood the severity of the situation and performed a maneuver intended to protect both guests and crew, and initiated security procedures to prepare for an eventual ship evacuation," Costa said, adding that evacuation was difficult due to the listing of the ship.
According to Italian media reports, Schettino and the ship’s first officer have been detained for questioning.
Gianni Onorato, president of Costa Cruises, expressed “deep sorrow for this terrible tragedy.”
“I am only now able to speak on behalf of Costa because, as you will understand, I have been at Isola del Giglio to be close to the rescue operations. We are not at this time able to answer all questions because the authorities are trying, with our cooperation, to understand the reasons for this incident,” said Onorato.
“From the moment we were alerted, Costa mobilized all its resources ashore to assist our guests and crew members, and to prevent potential environmental impacts.”
"We are working to fully understand the cause of what occurred," said Costa parent Carnival Corp.
Costa said about 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, 250 North Americans, about 160 French and approximately 1,000 crew members.
Costa set up a call center for the families of U.S. passengers, at 800-462-6782.
Follow Donna Tunney on Twitter @dttravelweekly.