The Costa Concordia
I was wondering why streaming services were suddenly offering me so many documentaries about the Costa Concordia sinking, and then I realized it’s been ten years now since it sank.
A horrible story all round, and one that’s always stuck in my mind. 34 people died overall because of the complete and utter failures of the people in charge. I do know though that in the aftermath of the sinking the survivors were taken to the small island of Giglio and the islanders immediately gathered round to help them, an extra 4200 people they barely had room for who all were desperate and traumatized. From the New York Times:
While the global attention shifted away from Giglio, residents have stayed in touch with the outside world through the people who temporarily lived there.
For months, the Rev. Lorenzo Pasquotti, who was then a pastor in Giglio, kept receiving packages: dry-cleaned slippers, sweaters and tablecloths that were given to the cold, stranded passengers in his church that night, returned via courier.
One summer, Father Pasquotti ate German cookies with a German couple who were passengers on the ship. They still remembered the hot tea and leftovers from Christmas delicacies that they were given that night.
“So many nationalities — the world was at our door all of a sudden,” he said, remembering that night. “And we naturally opened it.”