next fox news sunday. >> this is like the titanic. the wreck of the costa concordia. the terror. >> they were directing you to go back to your cabin? >> correct. >> there were no women and children first. >> we found him. he was dead. >> the desperate search for the missing. >> the captain risks the lives of thousands. >> it is obvious. >> heroism or extreme coward

december. >> fox news reporting. tragedy at sea. here is geraldo rivera. >> good evening. behind me that's new york harbor. for centuries sea going vessels of all shapes and sizes passed in and out of this harbor. it wasn't so long ago that when you boarded a ship bound for the high seas you knew real risk was involved. this week came a staggering reminder that the sea is still dangerous and unfor giving. ultra modern cruise liner sunk by colossal bad judgment. the tragedy compounded by possibly coward decembs and gro negligence. most of the passengers and crew were safely evacuated but not all of them. now the costa concordia is synonymous with one of the most infamous cruise line in history. i have navigated these waters and mediterranean, too.

i know disaster is always possible on the water and all too likely when you forget that. tonight the still unfolding story of the concordia's short voyage that started with high anticipation and ended in terror. >> i kept thinking how am i going to find lynn? how am i going to find her? >> nobody knew what to do. >> you don't want to yell it out loud. >> i thought i was going to die. >> i remember thinking to myself if there's a point in the whole

ordeal we are going to die, it will be on this life boat. (screams) >> we were told thatted electrical system was failing and we were told not to panic. >> we are currently in a blackout. they are resolving the situation. >> we had a blackout. all of the passengers were creaming raundi -- and running p and down. >> they are getting back to get us. at that point the boat started sinking more and more. >> the ship is completely tilted and had to hold on to bars and whatever we could so we didn't

fall. >> that's the moment you are thinking about your family and friends. >> there was a young woman next to me on the life boat who had two young kids. she had nowhere to hold. i asked her i said hold my hand hold my arm so she was latching on. fl >> it was chaos. everything was every where. >> standing in the water started coming on my feet.

>> i realized this is actually happening right now. it will hit me later. all of our stuff is on it. but we are off of it and>> terror that has many americans asking how can as much a calamity you will get answers tonight. >> go to the island of gelio the idealist terror spot at the center of this deadly disaster. it is the latest in the ongoing drama. >> theed about de of another female was found on board a ship today and family members of jerry and barbara hiel were on the highland. further leaked transcripts between the captain and they are saying costa cruise approved his sal lawsuit of the island and

encouraged the salutes as publicity stunts. he fears his life boat might have run over some people in the water. >> there is a lot of curiosity about another woman seen with the captain this one on the morning after the accident. costa cruise line says she is an employee from their legal department. a lap top computer that the captain was seen carrying the morning after the accident is said to be missing. costa says it is not in their possession. geraldo back to you. >> amy, thank you. >> it was april 1912 close to 100 years ago when the luxury liner titanic steamed out of new england heading to new york city. of course never made it. the titanic hit an iceberg in the north atlantic. with the more than 2,000 on board more than 1500 parents in the icy waters. even in the early 20th century sailing on the high seas was a kind of adventure travel,

icebergs, storms. hidden reefs. all real risks. far fewer people think of the ocean in that way today. will this tragedy make them think again? oo stranded on the rocks off the coast of tuscany it has the world asking how can this happen in 2012? sailing the seas since 2006 the ocean liner costa concordia was the first of a new class of ships created specifically for a division of carnival cruise line built in italy it cost approximately half a billion dollars. she measures 950 from stem to stern bigger than the titanic. heavier than the uss enterprise america's first nuclear aircraft carrier. she is longer than 3 football fields and a football field was one of the few amenities not on board. concordia was the stuff of dreams for vacationers from around the world.

the 65,000 square foot fitness sinter 5 jacuzzis, 5 restaurants, 13 bars, a casino, a disco deck, a multi level theater and more than 1500 cabins of various shapes and sizes. >> if you look at the recent advertising of the cruise line they have nothing to do with the boats any more. >> travel writer pauline promer. >> they don't want the element of boat to come into it the fact that you are out in the middle of the ocean on a vessel surrounded by boughtwater. >> the ship was krisened concordia which is italian for harmony in this case between nations. over 35 nations were represented among the passengers. 1,000 plus crew members on board last week. 120 of those vacationers were american including jordan powell and nick hope of louisville, kentucky who were looking forward to the vacation of their young lives. >> you must have had a great

sense of anticipation looking so forward to this great shi-- tri. >> it was my first trip out of the country. especially my first trip to europe. >> it was scheduled as a one-week cruise leaving 50 miles north of rome and docking next at an italian city. it didn't occur to them they left on friday the 13th. but something else did trouble them. >> we did not have a life boat drill. i was very alarmed is this did not occur. i did inquire about it to a crew member they explained it would happen the following day. >> mike bruno is chairman at the marine board of the national research council. >> in the united states a vessel carrying passengers is required to conduct their safety briefing normally before the ship pushes out to sea. international regulations may stip rate it -- stipulate it is

done within 24-hours. >> they were schedule to do pass by a small rocky island off of tuscany. there should have been no mistaking where the vessel was. the concordia was out mitt-- outfitted with state of the art technology with every rock visibility on electronic and paper charts. so the perils of the island would be clearly visible to any one paying attention. the ship's captain steered his huge vessel toward the gilio shore. several sources report he wanted to sound his ship's horn as he passed the island to salute a retired admiral of the cruise line who lived ashore. i wouldn't want to be the captain of the titanic forced to navigate between icebergs. captain said in an interview in 2010 adding, these days everything is much safer thanks

to merchandise earn technical instruments. all of the instruments in the world could not protect it from it steaming from disaster. >> find crystal and gourmet dishes crashing to the

>> the costa concordia headed to a close encounter with gilio. tragedy strikes. >> 9:42 p.m. passengers are sitting godown f dinner. >> i remember taking my first bite of the ap tires. that's when i heard the first crash like a wine glass had hit

the ground. then you heard more and more stuff hitting the ground. >> brian his wife joan and daughter alanna described the chaos in what had been the elegant dining room. >> people were falling waiters were tripping glasses were breaking. people were screaming. >> the vessel was mortally wounded. the hull gougeed by a gigantic rock. to find out what it must have been right we got access to a ship simulator outside baltimore maryland. eric is the director of training. >> i am getting too close i am hard star bird. i feel the vessel lifting a little bit. >> beginning to lift a bit. >> we are keeling over now. we have hit bottom. what has happened? >> we are actually running up on the beach or the ground whatever is underneath us there. we are actually running across that right now. >> we have to abandon ship? >> now the cat cast fee has

happened for whatever reason. now it's about managing the disaster. >> that's right. that's right. >> back to concordia. it's 9:45 p.m. three minutes after an alarm sounds electricity fails and the ship goes dark. >> they told you that it was an electrical problem? >> yeah, something with the generators and everything was under control. we are in a blackout. we are resolving the situation. >> don't panic, don't worry. stay calm. you could definitely tell something was wrong. >> it is five minutes later. 9:50 p.m. when passengers -- some have apps on their iphone and they know the ship is leaning. people were sliding. there was people going to the

crew members in panic. there were people going up the steps going down the steps pushing and shoving trying to find a life vest. the only way to describe it is chaos. >> we were grabbing whaefsh we could to pull ourselves up. >> they were on the cruise together. >> we need to get away from the table get away from falling things. there's something over our head. we noeed to get to the room. >> she told me to put my socks and shoes on get my coat and put my life jacket on. >> i said get my jewelry out of the safe and she was prepared. >> it has put a 160 foot gash on the vessel's port side. the crew tells passengers to return to their cabins. in desperation the captain steers the dying ship back

toward the harbor. then he rushed to the life boat. not having an emergency drill most don't know where they are. >> i had to physically shake a crew member to tell me where the life boats are. you tell me where they are now because i had tried to ask him and once again was directed to my cabin. i insisted no. life boats. at that point they said they are on deck 4. >> you are telling me they were directing you to go back to your cabin rather than going to the life boat deck? >> correct. >> that may be because the captain had not given the signal to abandon ship. that finally happened at 10:10 p.m. nearly a half hour after the crash. the panic gets worse. >> there were no women and children first. that was gone. >> this family was trying to get on the life boat. their teenaged son wasn't kept up with them.

i kind of pushed out and said let him go through. >> people were frantic and screaming and shoving and yelling and just fighting for their life. >> you have this mass chaos because they cannot disengage the boat. once you release one you are hanging. i am on the outside. if we go down i drown. >> we waited and we waited and we waited. then they began to lower us down. when we hit water it was cheering, excitement, relief. we lookup and it is still leaning over us. panic begins to set in again. >> her life boat gets into the water with the ship lying on her side many boats on the high side cannot be launched at all. >> i was trying i was terrified. i was telling my husband we are going to die here. >> the water is chilly in the mid 50s. passengers jump in to swim the 150 yards to shore. some are seriously hurt. a few don't make it.

incredibly amid all of the danger and panic it is not until 10:20 p.m., 10 minutes after announcing abandon ship the vessel finally signals the alarm to the coast guard. that begins an epic rescue and recovery operation that is not over yet. helicopters arrive to lift people out of the water and off the ship. private boats, too. among the earliest to reach safety a man who's duty was to remain on boyered. concordia's captain fran chess co. his sad story next. shocking tapes and the story behind them. was the concordia captain a coward or something else? why are some people calling him a hero? is this and more just moments away.

schettinoschettino. >> back to our story, tragedy at sea. francesco sk francesco sket no rusket teen ns -- schettino runs it aground. something out of the movie titanic. come on. >> at the stairwell people were screaming and crying. >> just like the scene from titan tick. people were grabbing and pushing and shoving. >> this is like the titanic of the 21st century.

>> the difference these scenes are shot in the dark of night by choppers using infra-red cameras. war more panicked passengers on cell phone. this video shows passengers stranded inside. disoriented in the pitch black where they and those searching for them can't tell a ceiling from a wall from a floor. some are injured. shockingly captain schettino is far from danger. afloat on a life raft heading to land. coast card captain grigoria speaks with him by phone. their heated argument cement in the minds of italians and people around the world. two men polar opposites the hero verses the coward schettino. one man doing his duty the other running away. >> look schettino you may have saved yourself from the sea but i will put you in a lot of trouble get back on board for (bleep) sake.

>> schettino never returns to concordia. he beg force a pair of dry socks at this motel. >> when you heard he left the vessel before all of the passengers were off your feelings? >> people are dead and missing and it's on his shoulders. it's not right. >> italian authorities contained sket no and charged him with abandoning ship failure to offer assistance and manslaughter. they also detain the ship. ambrosio also fled his sinking ship. more survivors arrive without luggage without direction and sometimes without their

traveling companions. >> lynn had gotten to the island before me. thousands of people and to fientd her in the dark was unbelievable. i thought i am going to go up on the hill there's a wall. >> there she is like a beacon. karen, karen. i am here. i am here, i am here. it was incredible. >> they learned the tdimensions of the captain's mistake. on saturday news of three confirmed dead three french passengers and a crew member from peru. by early sunday some think it will take a miracle to find more people alive. miracles happen. a korean youm newlyweds trapped in their cabin two decks barack obama water survived. a cry from inside the ship. it is an italian crew member who has broken his leg.

a helicopter flies him back for treatment. by monday the death tole has reached 7. the news get worse. rescuers pull five more bodies from the wreck. the tole reached 11 dead. the number missing is revised upward from 16 to 29. among them two americans gerald hiel 69 and wife barbara 70. they have spent their entire lives raising four children pinching pennies to put their kids through private school. retirement was going to be their time but their dream vacation turned into a nightmare. >> wednesday, thursday, friday searchers find neither survivors another bodies. the tet todeath toll 12 with 20 missing. time has all but run out. >> coming up a view from the

shore. stories of horror, grief and stories of horror, grief and despair that you have not yet [ male announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually se arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammatio plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. a celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naen, and melocam have the same cardiovascar warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart dease or risk factors such as high blo pressure

or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach anintestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you'v had an asthma attack, hives, oother allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.

at sea. >> >> well connolcome back to fox reporting. tragedy at sea. i am geraldo rivera. the island of gilio is at the center of this disaster. all me kellogg is attracting it to shore. >> the tiny island sleeps and wakes to this dramatic image. this reminder of lives lost on a holiday cruise that ended in tragedy. for us it was our september 11th. our lives will never be the same again i can't explain it. >> it was a fishing island with some of the clearest seas you can image. now it is a tranquil tourist

destination. nearly a week after the costa concordia tragedy gilio is a grimm hunting down for answers clues to what happened to those still missing. family members from around the world make the journey here for answers. kevin's brother russell is missing. he was a waiter on the costa concordia. he made a personal appeal fto te divers. >> i am here for my brother. if you ever see him on board just say his brother is waiting outside for him. >> gilio also the home of concordia's maitre d and his father. that wasn't the only personal tie to the island. mario pulumbo a friend of the ship's captain was an admiral at the tocosta concordia. he was not in gilio because cap stan sket no wanted schettino wo

give a salute to him and the island. the mattera de posted it on facebook. she wrote in a short period of time the concordia ship will pass very close a big greeting to my brother who finally gets to have a holiday on landing in savona. captain schettino reportedly told look come and see. we are right in front of gilio. right in front way too close. people here immediately knew something was wrong. >> i was working on my computer i heard a strange sound and saw bright lights. >> he owns the bahamas hotel right on the coast a few hundred yards from the wreck. i went outside then the lights went out. they said it was an electrical problem but i knew it was more grave than that. >> soon so did everyone in gilio. they realized faster than them

on the ship just how much trouble it was in. >> they did what they could do for the onslaught of survivors. >> what struck me is how those with life vests would not relinquish them even once they were on safe land. >> first survivors were dry they had been in boats. the next ones were wet in their desperation they had swam. in the dark it was hard to know who was who and who needed what. the only thing that was clear is nobody was in charge. it was chaos. >> the ship as you can sees really quite close to shore. >> that is why it is difficult for people to understand why it is so hard to locate those last unaccounted for passengers. fox news went out to see the ship with some of the first rescue crews on the scene. ricardo tells us about rescuing an elderly french woman swimming

toward land hypothermic separated from her husband. >> she was screaming my muss pierre. >> later he found pierre who was dead. he tried to resuscitate him. >> at the moment you don't realize you have something inside adrenaline. hope is a good word. probably is a bigger word. >> captain schettino some say is the most hated han man in italy abandoning ship before the others and for not calling for evacuation immediately. >> it is an indignity the commander of the ship left while others stayed on trying to help. >> the molino family searched for their daughter erica. they say erica the youngest child worked for the cruise line for three years as a waitress. >> we don't want her left for food or fish for animals.

>> the family has been told erica helped people off the ship. erica fell into the water and as of wednesday had not been seen or heard from. despite the damming audio tapes hotel owner palo is not ready to condemn schettino. >> he did not abandon the ship. he was on the life boat. i think he realized he created disaster and may have been in shock. >> he defends the captain saying he was unlucky adding people on this island sail and those on land judge. not so for ricardo who describes that staff like waitresses were managing the situation they were the only ones on board. this is absolutely it. >> the top officers escaped to

the rocks facing the ship. >> the captain and the other they were on their rocks. >> they were on a rescue ship but they wewe were here. this were not rescue ships. >> there was potential solution if the fuel from the ship leaks into the sea. 9 rest of the residents must wake each morning to another glimpse of the nightmare. a disaster that will forever be linked to their home. >> coming up who is the captain of the concordia and how hot is the water he is now in. we

[♪...] >> announcer: bank robbery certainly is a frightening crime. after all, bank robbers stole $43 million in one year. but identity thieves? try 37 billion! and guess how identity thieves are getting some of that money. by taking over our bank accounts. they may not even need your social security number anymore. all an identity thief may need are a couple of simple pieces of information, like your mother's maiden name or the city you were born in, and they could add their name onto your bank accounts in order to make your money their money. you need help. [whoosh, clang] you need lifelock-- the only identity protection company that now monitors bank accounts for takeover fraud. lifelock is the proactive identity protection company with an early warning alert system that is state of the art. when we detect any suspected breaches of your personal

information within our network, we contact you right away, before the damage is done. lifelock has the most comprehensive identity protection available. no one can stop all identity theft-- that's why lifelock offers you peace of mind, and you get our million dollar total service guarantee. >> having your identity stolen feels like you've been totally violated. you go around looking over your shoulder. it's almost as if someone has broken into your home. >> announcer: don't spend another day without lifelock. call now! try lifelock's service risk-free for 60 days. lifelock is the only identity protection company that now monitors bank accounts for takeover fraud. no one provides more comprehensive identity protection than lifelock. if you're not convinced after 60 days, simply notify lifelock and you won't pay. and to keep your documents out of the wrong hands, we'll even add this personal shredder-- a $29 value-- absolutely free with your enrollment. don't wait another minute. call now or go to lifelock.com.

lifelock service guarantee cannot be offered to residents of new york.

>> he ran a cruise liner a ground and went on a life boat while the passengers were still on the vessel. some would not escape the ship alive. is there any excuse for what captain francesco schettino did? >> this horrifying seen of panicked passengers on board the concordia is the direct result of a reckless maneuver compounded by the captain's callous and inep president reaction according to investigators. chairman and ceo of cruises. >> we believe there has been a human error here the captain did not follow the (indiscernible) >> this is the course taken by the doomed advisvessel.

he made a sweeping left turn. a dramatic deviation of the scheduled course. captain peter ve ceo of the maritime college. >> as you and i look at this, it is obvious the land is there and the rocks are there how you come that close you take that particular risk in bringing that vessel to that point inexcusable. >> now the prep pos truss claim he grounded his ship on an unchartered rock. >> i don't know if it was detected or not but on the nautical chart it was marked just as water at some 100 to 150 meters from the rocks. we were about 300 meters from the shore more or less. we shouldn't have had this contact. >> his line. having sailed the very seas and using the nautical charts i know any mariner would steer clear of

the rock so obviously marked it screams stay away. and it guess worets worse. concordia has been there before. in his interrogation the captain admits he turned his massive vessel too late. according to italian media reports he said quote i was navigating by sight because i knew the depths well and i had done this maneuver three or four times. but this time i ordered to turn too late and i ended up in water that was too shallow. i don't know why it happened. >> this is from louds of london on august 14th, 2011, last year this blue line indicates the trip the same vessel took. barely missing the rock. that would seem to indicate the cruise line had noticed these inherently dangerous maneuvers and saturday additional documents from the investigation under score a growing rift

between the cruise line and the wow boy -- cowboy captain they portrayed as personally responsible for the tragedy. the captain claiming to investigators he informs his superiors immediately after the wreck that he had quote messed up when he ran concordia on to the reef. the company refused to comment to fox news. but if schettino was in contact with his bosses in real time could those communications shed light on his bizarre behavior after the wreck at the height of the banic with water rushing into his strickened vessel. according to barita the ill faded captain demanded he and a young blonde female companion be served their dinner. >> the captain wanted us to cook for him around 10 or 10:30. saw him with a woman we did not recognize. i asked the other cook jason what the captain was thinking?

at that time everything was falling apart including our cooking. i couldn't believe that was happening. i asked myself what was he still there waiting for his companion's dessert with what was happening? >> what has earned captain schettino the title of the most hated man in italy is his in indefensible behavior. >> if compare that to the titanic captain smith stayed for the duration of the evacuation. they got off women and children first. >> ignoring century old traditions like women and children first and the captain is the last man off the vessel. the captain should go down with the ship. instead schettino testified he fell off the concordia by accident saying during his 3 hour interrogation quote all of a sudden the boat lifted between 60 and 70 degrees i got trapped and ended up in one of the life boats. that's why i was there.

>> why did you stay in the laf boat. that's a different question. >> it looks like a coward, doesn't it? >> it does. he knew exactly what was happening there. that's where you judge a person's character. >> heroism or extreme coward he is are determined in an instant. this captain was sorely missing. >> i heard the captain left the ship first oy among the first. this is not true. >> only one person came to schettino's defense. it is the mystery blonde who accompanied him to the bizarre dinner even as the ship was sinking. she is 25-year-old cruise ship hostess and former dancer. she is the woman witnesses say they saw polishing off a de cantor of wine with the married captain just before he ran his vessel aground. >> he saved us. i believe that he did an extraordinary job.

the whole crew thinks so. he saved more than 3,000 people. >> facing manslaughter charges to the chagrin of italian prosecutors the disgrace the captain was released from jail and placed under house arrest. investigators say they are awaiting results of his alcohol and drug tests. >> when we come back has the wreck changed the way travelers feel about the cruise lierns.

>> countless tails dating ancient times who sail the 7 seas in search of adventure. you don't need adventure as long as you have a price of a ticket you can leave from almost any court. surrounded by opulence the entire voyage be sure to be a

safe return which is why the re wreck of the costa concordia has everyone asking how could this happen. >> everyone knows titan tick's tragic tail. the costa con tornado y-- concordia saw other notable disasters. 1996 it comboez down off of nantucket. 51 lives are lost. 1975 the wreck of the edmond fitzgerald in a storm on lake superior killed 29d people. 1989 the exxon valdez strikes a reef and spills hundreds of thousands of oil. travel writer pauline. >> every time there's a disaster at sea regulations get fixed after the titanic it became the international standards that there were enough life boats after a series of fires in the 1980d and 199 0s it became international standards that there were fire alarms in every

room. >> mike bruno is chairman of the marine board at the national research council. >> what should change as a result of this disaster. >> i think there will be a close look at both manning and training of passenger vessels as a result of this. >> since 2005100 million people have taken cruise vacations. >> it's a statistic cruise ships are one of the safest ways to travel. >> if you look at ship wide incidents by which i mean fires turbulence caused by bad waves storms. we have had less than 30 deaths by these same types of events that we saw on the concordia. >> no matter how safe the cruising industry must contend with the heartbreaking stories coming from the tuscan coast and rippling around the globe. like that tragedy involving gerald and barbara the elderly couple from minnesota who put off their dream vacation until

retirement. it ended with this. their four children, 15 grandchildren and lifelong collection of friends holding a candlelight vigil back home. scenes like this have led to a flurry of cancellations according to jerry willis of fox business. >> as many of 1-10 say they were worried about the cruise canceled the cruise they already booked. the entire industry will be affected. >> cruising as an industry had been growing at a braeak neck pace. i think in the short run the growth of the cruising industry is going to be slowed. >> a great cruise liner geives passengers a holiday from their world. it takes them to far off places but at the same time it can shield them from the reality they are at sea. aboard one of these massive engineering marvels it's easy to forget the ocean is i am plaqueable. no matter how sophisticated the technology or luxurious the

surroundings or immense the vessel there is nothing that over comes human misjudgment or recklessness or

>> good monday morning to you, it's january 23, 2012. i'm gretchen carlson. hope you had a fantastic weekend. with the race for the republican nomination blown wide open now, all eyes are on florida. newt gingrich thinks he knows what the people want there. >> people who are sick and tired of being told what they're allowed to think and what they're allowed to say. >> is he right? we will report and most importantly, you can decide. >> plus mitt romney making a big campaign announcement. he's releasing his tax returns not in april but tomorrow. what exactly are critics looking for? will that be enough? we'll talk about that. >> all right. talk about deja vu, the overtime field goal in t