UNREGISTERED PASSENGERS?
Adding to the growing debate about the ship's safety standards, Franco Gabrielli - head of Italy's Civil Protection authority which is coordinating the rescue operations - said a number of unregistered passengers may have been on board.
Relatives of a missing Hungarian woman told authorities she was on the Costa Concordia with a member of the crew, but her name was not on the list of passengers, he said.
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"In theory, there could be an unknown number of people who were on the ship and have not been reported missing because they were not registered," Gabrielli said.
Of the 13 bodies found, only 8 had been identified - four French nationals, an Italian, a Hungarian, a German and a Spaniard. At least 20 people are still unaccounted for.
Minor pollution from detergents and disinfectants aboard the shipwreck had been detected in the waters around the vessel but there was no sign that the heavy fuel in its tanks was leaking, Gabrielli said.
He said tests were being carried out daily on the waters around the ship and a nearby desalination plant that provides drinking water for the island's residents.
"The tests for toxic substances are negative so far," Gabrielli said. "The only significant elements detected, which luckily are not worrying yet, relate to ... detergents and disinfectants used on the ship, for the swimming pool or to clean the bathrooms for example."
Environment experts have warned that contamination of the pristine waters around Giglio, which is in the middle of a national marine park, is already under way and it is imperative to start recovering the fuel oil as soon as possible.
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