A boat with rescue workers is seen near the Costa Concordia cruise ship
A boat with rescue workers is seen near the Costa Concordia cruise ship. Reports are that rescuers found five more bodies on Tuesday, bring the death tool to 11. Reuters

Rescuers on Tuesday, found five more bodies on the Costa Concordia, the Italian ship that is still submerged after running aground on Friday. The death toll is reportedly now 11.

Reuters is reporting that firefighters have said the five bodies were found in the submerged part of the Italian cruise liner, which capsized off Italy's west coast last week.

According to the UK's Telegraph, one woman and five men were found at the stern of the boat, below the waterline.

They were all wearing life jackets and we believe they are all aged between 50 and 60 years old, said Filippo Marini, Coast Guard spokesman.

The Costa Concordia, a luxury cruise liner, ran aground in Italy on Friday. More than 4,000 people were on board and more 20 people are still missing.

Reports are that rescuers had to explode four holes in the hull of the ship on Tuesday in order to get much easier access to areas that haven't been searched as yet.

Officials said that those who are reported missing included 14 Germans, six Italians, four French, two Americans, one Hungarian, one Indian and one Peruvian.

The ship's captain Francesco Schettino, 52, remains in custody. Reports are that he was ordered to return to the ship.

The media has reported that a transcript of the conversation between Schettino and port authority officials show that the captain was told to coordinate the rescue operation.

You must return on board. Climb the ladder (rope ladder), return to the fore (stem) and coordinate the work, Schettino was told. But he gave no reply.

You must tell us how many people are on board, how many women, how many children. You have to coordinate the rescue operation. Commander, this is an order, an official told Schettino. Now I'm in charge, you have abandoned ship and now you are going to go to the stem and coordinate the work. There are already dead bodies.

Schettino is facing multiple manslaughter charges, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship before all passengers were evacuated.

United kingdom