Ceremony to mark Costa Concordia capsizing

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ROME, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Some 900 people may gather Sunday on the Tuscan island of Giglio, officials say, to commemorate the capsizing of the cruise ship that killed 32 people.

The gathering on a pier will mark the first anniversary of the Costa Concordia striking a rock off the island's coast last Jan. 13, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Tuesday.

Survivors, family members of the dead and emergency workers who pulled passengers from the water will be the focus of the ceremony, Mayor Sergio Ortelli said.

Those marking the occasion will be able to see the ship, still tilted against the deadly rock. Salvagers say they won't be able to raise and move the vessel until at least June.

Francesco Schettino, the ship's captain, is still the center of legal issues surrounding the accident. He faces a possible indictment on multiple counts of manslaughter. While he endures that wait, he is in court this week for a wrongful dismissal hearing where his attorneys are arguing the company that owned the cruise ship did not properly dismiss him.