Captain, crew downplayed Costa Concordia's condition

GIGLIO, Italy, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- A phone call made shortly after a cruise ship ran aground off Italy reinforces accusations the captain and crew failed promptly to alert authorities.

Time was running out Thursday to find the 22 people still missing aboard the Costa Concordia, which hit a rocky outcropping last Friday, as bad weather moved in and fears the ship's fuel tanks would rupture mounted.

In a phone call made about 30 minutes after the collision, an unidentified officer was recorded telling a port official in Livorno the cruise ship was only suffering from a blackout.

The audio tape, broadcast Thursday by Sky Italia, reinforces accusations Schettino and his crew failed to alert authorities and waited too long before giving the order to abandon ship, The Daily Telegraph said.

The newspaper said investigators also want to interview Domnica Cemortan, a 25-year-old Moldovan woman who may have been with the captain on the bridge of the cruise liner when it hit the rocky ledge. Cemortan, who was not on the official list of passengers and crew, was reportedly the guest of one of the ship's officers, the newspaper said.

Cemortan, in interviews with a Moldovan television station and a Moldovan newspaper, defended Schettino, calling him a hero for steering the stricken ship towards Giglio's harbor and claiming he was still on the ship when she evacuated shortly before midnight.

Environment Minister Corrado Clini said he fears the capsized vessel could slip off the rocky ledge on which it is balancing and sink entirely or its fuel tanks, carrying roughly 2,300 tons of fuel, could rupture, ANSA reported Thursday.

"I'm not calm at all," said Clini. "Our time is very limited."

At least 11 people died after the ship carrying 4,200 passengers and crew capsized last Friday off the coast of Tuscany.

A fuel tank rupture would cause an environmental disaster and block the ability of divers to continue their search for the 22 people who were still missing after nearly a week. Explosives are being used to blast holes in the hull of the ship to allow for better access for rescuers.

Francesco Schettino, the cruise liner captain accused of abandoning the vessel while passengers were still aboard, said he "tripped" and fell into a lifeboat while trying to help evacuate the ship, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported.

Schettino, 52, said there was nothing he could do to get back on board once he had tumbled off the ship.

He told investigators he had made a mistake when he brought the ship close to the island of Giglio in an effort to "salute" a friend and turned too late, ending up in shallow water where the ship struck a rocky outcrop.

Colleagues accused Schettino of treating the ship like a sports car, calling him a daredevil, the newspaper said.