Before Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia’s tragic disaster Friday,
some citizens of the island Giglio looked towards the sea to get a
glimpse of the boat, following a Facebook prompt from a ship worker’s sister.
While head waiter Antonello Tievolli reportedly did not ask the
captain to steer towards his native island, he told his family he would
be passing by that evening and his sister shared his whereabouts with
her Facebook network.
Patrizia Tievoli, Antonello’s sister, posted to Facebook Friday, “In a
short period of time the Concordia ship will pass very close. A big
greeting to my brother who finally get to have a holiday on landing in
Savona,” (translated from Italian), the Telegraph reports.
As the Concordia approached the coast of the island Giglio, ship
Captain Francesco Schettino told the head waiter, a Giglio native, “Come
and see, Antonello, we’re right in front of Giglio,” Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reports.
The captain went too far with the Facebook-cued stunt. The ship hit
rocks, which tore through its hull, resulting in the boat’s demise. More
than 4,000 passengers were evacuated Friday night. Schettino was
accused of inexcusable recklessness Monday, for his decision to steer
too close to the island.
When Tievolli finally reached the shore of his home island, he
reportedly told his friends and family, “I would never have imagined
that I’d end up disembarking on my own island like this.”
During the Concordia’s last voyage past Giglio Jan. 6, Patrizia also
spotted the ship and posted to Facebook, “I’m signalling to them. I
wonder if they can see me,” Corriere della Sera noted.
Patrizia’s Facebook updates are now an ominous reminder of an onlooker’s excitement before disaster struck.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, 26ISO
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