70 people missing....

I wonder what caused it 

I quite fancied a cruise till now

I think it hit a mahoosive rock Rexi.  And isn't it weird how it's almost exactly 100 years since the Titanic went down.  

Awful, reminds me of the Zeebrugge ferry , seeing it lying on its side . Different circumstances, but it must have been so scary for the people on board. Still a lot missing 

Yeah Sparkles, that was mentioned on the news......shades of the Titanic. 

Yes, Skylark, it brought that back to me too. I remember we moved in the house I'm still in on that night. I can remember sitting on the chair in nightie and dressing gown and knees tucked up in it watching the news about it 

I went on a ferry not long after and i kept asking if the bow doors were closed, i was scared witless 

I can imagine 

Yes... I thought about the Zeebruge ferry too Skylark.....  and yes.... it must have been terrifying

We go on a cross Channel ferry most years ......I always think of The Herald of Free Enterprise ...................horrific accident - this one looks bad too but - not icy waters (not that it makes a lot of difference I suppose) - terrifying either way!

Got Sky News on.........captain and first officer  detained on suspicion of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship while passengers in danger 

Oh 

I haven't caught much about it yet, but I believe it ran aground.

"Three survivors are found on the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia more than 24 hours after it ran aground, as searches continue. "

Over the past decade modern cruise ships have doubled in size

Shipping experts say they are puzzled as to why such a modern and well-equipped vessel should have run aground in well-charted waters.

The £300m ($460m) ship had been travelling in calm seas, along a familiar route.

How it came to deviate from its course by 3-4 nautical miles - and why it capsized so quickly - will be central for investigators trying to establish the cause of the accident.

The investigation will focus on why a modern ship, with the latest safety equipment, travelling on the same route it travels 52 times every year, seemingly veered off course and hit what the cruise company has described as "a big rock".

There are a large number of possibilities ranging from human error, to technical failure, to a combination of the two.

It is possible the crew simply made a mistake and steered off course. They may have been misled by faulty navigation equipment.

Other reports suggest there may have been some kind of power failure.

These big ships rely on their electric generators for steering, power, lighting and so on. But that is why they have back-up systems that kick-in in case of emergencies.

The "black box" recorder has been taken from the capsized ship

Investigators will already be looking for the cause.

Modern ships have a "black box" system, similar to aircraft, that record voices on the bridge, as well as taking screen shots of the radar position and other data.

That, along with reports from the captain and crew, should eventually give us a clearer picture.

William Gibbons, Chief Executive of the Passenger Shipping Association which represents cruise ship companies in the UK, said the tragedy was very unusual and that the whole industry would learn from it.

"The Italian authorities will be carrying out the investigation. I cannot comment on the timescale... but I'm sure the investigation will start fairly quickly," he said.

Modern cruise ships have doubled in size over the past decade.

They are regulated by the International Maritime Organisation, which determines everything from how far a ship should be able to list and still launch its lifeboats, to how long an evacuation should take.

But those regulations are now being questioned by some in the industry.

It could be anything from six months to a year before the investigation officially reveals what happened to the Costa Concordia.