Relatives mark anniversary of cruise liner disaster

Survivors of the Costa Concordia shipwreck and relatives of the 32 people who died marked the first anniversary of the grounding yesterday with the unveiling of memorials to the victims, a Mass in their honour and a minute of silence to recall the exact moment the cruise ship rammed into a reef off Tuscany.

The first event of the day-long commemoration was the return to the sea of part of the huge rock that tore a 230ft gash into the hull of the ocean liner. The boulder remained embedded in the mangled steel as the 112,000 ton vessel capsized along with its 4,200 passengers and crew.

As fog horns wailed, a crane on a tug lowered the boulder onto the reef off Giglio, returning it to where it belongs and affixed with a memorial plaque. Relatives of the dead threw flowers into the sea as they watched the ceremony from a ferry nearby.

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A land-based memorial was being unveiled after a Mass and ceremony honouring rescue crews. A minute of silence was scheduled for later tonight, the exact moment when the Concordia slammed into the reef.

The captain, Francesco Schettino, is accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and leaving the ship before all passengers were evacuated. He is under court-ordered restrictions pending a decision whether to indict him.