ΕΝΑ ΓΚΕΪ ΖΕΥΓΑΡΙ ΣΤΟ ΝΑΥΑΓΙΟ ΤΟΥ COSTA CONCORDIA

The luxury cruise liner that Blake Miller boarded Friday was supposed to be the scene of a celebration. His partner of 10 years, Steve Garcia, turned 50 in November. It was Miller's first time in Europe. And neither Austin resident had been on a cruise before.

But by the time they settled into a bar several hours later, the ship shuddered. Bottles flew off the shelves as the boat rocked to the left. As glass shattered around them, passengers fled screaming.

Cruise employees instructed them to return to their cabins, explaining over the loudspeaker that there was a problem with the generator. But as the ship jerked violently in the opposite direction and the lights flickered off, a new set of instructions blared through the vessel: abandon ship.

The Costa Concordia had run aground near the coast of Tuscany, tearing a 160-foot gash in its hull that flooded with water. The ship then flipped on its side.

Amid chaos and crying, Miller and Garcia navigated upended hallways toward the lifeboats, leaving everything behind but a small flashlight. Cruise staff screamed for women and children to board the boats, and when the two men were finally lowered into the water, they heard the ship crack. The first row of windows was under water.

A fire drill that the passengers were supposed to participate in to prepare them for an emergency had been scheduled for the following day.

"There were so many people clamoring, leaning over the sides and screaming," Miller said, his voice choked. "They hadn't gotten on a boat."

Los Angeles schoolteacher Valerie Ananias said: "Have you seen 'Titanic'? That's exactly what it was."
By Ciara O'Rourke (statesman.com, 14/1/2012)