ATHENS, Greece, April 11 (UPI) -- A Greek official said last week's sinking of the Sea Diamond cruise ship off the island of Santorini was likely due to human error.
Merchant Marine Minister Michalis Kefaloyiannis told Kathimerini on Tuesday that the ship's crew and captain are likely to blame for last Thursday's incident.
"Most definitely there was also human error," Kefaloyiannis said. "What concerns us now... is environmental protection and finding the two missing French tourists."
While initial reports said that all the cruise ship's cabins had been checked during evacuation procedures, it was revealed later that certain cabins were inaccessible due to flooding. About 1,600 passengers and crew were aboard the ship.
The missing father and daugher were said to have been in those cabins.
As the search for Jean-Christophe Allain and his daughter, Maud, continued, experts are attempting to deal with an oil slick caused by the ship's collision with a reef.
The newspaper said that barriers have been placed around the slick to prevent further environmental contamination, while vessels extract the oil from the water.
