the latest on the americans who spent three days trapped on the costa alegra. eyewitness news at 4:00 continues with denise and vic after this. i'm carol, and this is my cvs pharmacist. i had to switch my insurance plan. but then my prescriptions got more expensive. i felt helpless... frustrated. it was very frustrating. then john... maurice... jill stepped in... made some calls... and saved me hundreds of dollars. that's a lot. it meant a lot to me. taking the time to help you with insurance questions. another reason to transfer your prescriptions today. ♪ i'm carol, and i bring all my prescriptions to my cvs. >>> it is 4:30. 50 degrees with rain. hello. thank you for staying with eyewitness news. >> here's what eyewitness news is talking about. >> anne arundel county executive john leopold has been indicted. kai jackson is in the newsroom with more. kai? >> denise, we know more about the indictment in those details. let's give them to you. leopold has been charged with four counts of misconduct in office. and one count of fraudulent misappropriation of a fidu

. >>> the disabled costa alegra is finally pulled ashore, after drifting for three days in the indianpassengers and crews say they are relieved to be back on land. tina kraus reports for wjz with their stories. >> reporter: passengers made their way off the crippled cruise ship on the island nation of safe shell. they spent three days at sea with no running water and no air conditioning. >> the heat is unbearable. so we had to spend most of our nights on the top deck of the ship. >> reporter: the programs began monday when a fire broke out in the costa alegra's engine room. passengers prepare to abandon ship while the crew battled the blaze. >> we all went to our sections. and there was a point where we thought we were going to have to lower the boats. >> reporter: the crew managed to put out the fire. but the ship was stalled. a french fishing boat worked to restore it for days. food supplies were low. all they had to eat were cold sand witches -- sandwiches. and helicopters dropped in fresh water. >> it's just a matter of inconvenience. not having enough food. not being able to rest

. >>> back on dry land, after drifting at sea for three days, the costa alegra cruise ship has continued to port. more than 1,000 passengers and crew are relieved to be home. >> reporter: passengers made their way off the crippled cruise ship on the island nation of sashell. they spent three days at sea, with no running water and no air conditioning. >> the heat is unbearable. so we had to spend most of our nights on the top deck of the ship. >> reporter: the problems began monday when a fire broke out in the costa alegra's engine room. passengers prepared to abandon ship, while the crew battled the blaze. >> we all went to our life sections. and there was a point where we thought we were going to have to lower the boats. >> reporter: the crew managed to put out the fire. but the ship was stalled. a french fishing boat worked to to the ship for three days, as passengers and crew lived on the deck. food supplies were low. all they had to eat were cold sandwiches. and helicopters dropped in fresh water. >> it's just a matter of inconvenience. not having enough food. not being able to rest

. >> reporter: the problems began monday, when a fire broke out in the costa alegra's room. >> we allent to our life station. and there was a point where we thought we were going to have to lower the boats. >> reporter: the crew managed to put out the fire. but the ship was stalled. a french fishing boat worked to tow the ship for three days, as passengers and crew lived on the deck. food supplies were low. all they had to eat were cold sandwiches. and helicopters dropped in cold water. >> just a matter of inconvenience, not having enough food. not being able to rest well at night. >> reporter: the ship's captain says it is too early to tell what caused the fire. >> because there is always an investigation in progress. >> reporter: this is the second disaster at sea in just over a month for costa cruise lines, which is owned by florida-based carnival. in january, the costa concordia hit rocks and sank. 25 people died in the disaster, including seven who are still missing. tina kraus, wjz eyewitness news. >> reporter: the cruise line provided tour buses to take passengers to their choi

hundreds of people are glad to be off the disabled cruise ship, costa alegra.h no power for three days, passengers say conditions became extremely difficult. >> european passengers began to arrive home safely, after their nightmare cruise ship. six of the eight americans on board remain in the sashells, where the costa aleg ria was pulled to port. for gordon and eleanor bradwell from georgia, the terrifying moment came when the alarm rang out to abandon ship. they got separated and scrambled for a life boat. >> we all went to our life section. and there was a point where we thought we were going to have to lower the boats. >> reporter: crews put out the fire within an hour. but the ship with 1,000 people on board was stranded in an area known to be targeted by somali pirates. cabin temperatures soared to over 110 degrees. there was no electricity to power the kitchens. >> not having enough food. not being able to rest well at night. we had -- the heat is unbearable. so we had to spend most of our nights on the top deck of the ship. >> reporter: in the three day

chairman.nçñçñçñç admiral, as you know from concordia and costa alegra here is that process by invitese they are u.s. citizens involved and so we can inject ourselves or is it by in a fight? >> it's based on a casualty code put forward by the international maritime organization, which has procedures for cooperation, and so we are using of the provisions of that code to make the approach to the italian government, and they've responded accordingly. >> so it's not driven by the italian government or by the u.s. coast guard, is driven by the standards that are in place? >> we have come as an interested party we did request and the ottilie and government has responded. >> okay. reminded me why we are interested party in the alegra? >> because there were eight u.s. passengers on board the vessel. >> can you talk a little bit about the center for excellence and how it operates? does it operate as more of a school setting, a seminar? how is that focus? >> it actually has multiple functions. it is first and foremost designed to train the marine inspectors from around the country, so wherever