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HEIWA'S & SIMON'S CONCORDIA SIGHTSEEING DAY (all photos by Simon Shack)
So Heiwa and I arrived (by ferryboat) in Giglio island at about 10:30 AM yesterday morning - Friday20Jan, 2012 - a week after the event. It was a splendid sunny day. Very few folks on the ferry - only a handful of people (a few TV people from Spain and France). Here's the impressive sight of the Concordia from the ferry as we approached the beatiful little island - and a few more shots I snapped as we sailed past it while entering the little port of Giglio:
As we entered the lovely little port I immediately spotted a restaurant(as the incurable gourmet that I am) which had the added value of providing a most ideal, 'grandstand' view of the wrecked Concordia ship. I decided Heiwa and I should have lunch there!
Alas, as we later entered the 'restaurant', all the chairs and tables were amassed in one corner - and the whole place looked more like a film/TV set! What a let-down!
In fact, the whole port looked more like a TV/film set, what with the various TV crews and cameras lined up on the docks...
...and with the media people taking turns at interviewing elegantly uniformed officials/admirals - proudly recounting at length what apparently had been a roaring success -
"the unprecedented rescue operation of 4200 people" ( I actually managed to record with my dictaphone this guy's speech - see photo below). Not ONCE did he mention the alleged 11 victims - nor the alleged 22 still missing passengers...) :
So what about, you may ask, the RESCUE operation? The RESCUE crews? Wasn't there frantic activity, both in the little Giglio port and around the ship wreck - considering 22 people are still missing - and to secure the ship which risks (as per official accounts and phony weather reports constantly predicting - since many days now - unforthcoming "sea storms"), to slide down in deeper waters any minute?
Nope. Not much at all, in fact. In a corner of the little port, there was a guarded, off-limits area with a few tents, with an assorted bunch of seemingly idle policemen/carabinieris/military people/firefighters/Guardia di Finanza officials and the like:
Here's the entrance of the ringed-off/off-limits area:
The most conspicuous/numerous (and totally idle) 'rescue-workers' were made up of a rather large contingent of "Vigili del Fuoco" (firefighters). Yet, the firefighters were clearly just hanging around - and certainly not involved with any sea-rescue operations :
Meanwhile, out by the CONCORDIA ship wreck - one of the major shipping incidents of modern history...
...here is the most 'frantic activity' I witnessed on the day:
To be continued...