Family’s cruise terror

Yusuf Moolla

I t was dinner time on the luxury ship and a Pietermaritzburg family of four had just sat down on their cruise in the Mediterranean.

Suddenly, the Costa Concordia started listing heavily to one side.

What followed was chaotic, scary and “Titanic like”, according to Faizal Agjee, his wife Nafeesa and their children Zaheer and Zahra.

They told how they had to evacuate the dining room as it started tilting, jumping from a malfunctioned lifeboat back onto the ship, running through passageways while holding on to anything they could to avoid slipping, and jumping onto the roof of a rescue boat.

At least three people were killed, with 70 others injured and nearly 20 people still missing as the ship ploughed into a reef off an island on Italy’s Tuscan coast on Friday evening.

The Agjees were among 4 234 people on board when the vessel hit the reef, tearing a massive gash in its hull and sending in a rush of water that caused it to list badly.

Yesterday, a South Korean honeymoon couple were plucked from the ship, 24 hours after it was wrecked, and rescue workers were struggling to save another trapped person.

The captain of the luxury 114 500ft ship, Francesco Schettino, was under arrest and accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship, Italian police said.

Sitting in their Rome Hilton Hotel room in oversized tracksuits that were handed out to them after they lost all their clothes and most of their possessions, the family spoke of their harrowing ordeal.

“At first, an announcement was made to stay calm and that it was an electrical fault,” said Faizal, 52.

But with the tilt ever increasing, glass and cutlery slipped off the tables. Then the lights went out and, sitting in darkness, panic broke out.

Zaheer, 18, told his family to get to their cabins as soon as possible to get valuables and lifejackets.

“We were tilting too much, but they continued to announce that everything was fine. We ran to our rooms, got our valuables and put on our lifejackets,” said Zaheer.

An evacuation drill had been planned for Saturday morning, but because this had not taken place, panic took over.

The messages announced to passengers became meaningless. But before an evacuate announcement was made, the family made their way to the ship’s port side.

Zahra, 22, overwhelmed with fear, could not contain her tears throughout the ordeal. She said the family made it to a lifeboat and jumped on.

“While waiting, many people continued to try and get on even though the boat was full to capacity; they pushed themselves through the gate, it was horrible.”

A woman almost fell overboard, but was caught before plunging below.

The lifeboat was left dangling off the side for some time as the crew said they needed to wait for the captain to give the order to release them – an order that did not come.

Through all the madness, Zahra felt a sense of calm when an elderly couple, also in the lifeboat, smiled at her.

“Every time I looked at them, they smiled. It was warm and unifying and despite our different backgrounds we were in the same situation, having lost all possessions and trying to escape.”

But that calmness soon turned to horror as the lifeboat became wedged between the ropes and the side of the heavily listing ship.

“The lifeboat could not be lowered and we had to jump back onto the ship. This was the most terrifying part of the entire night,” said Zaheer.

The family had to negotiate a gap between the lifeboat and the ship with a 40m drop below them.

Once back on the deck, they made their way across the ship, to its starboard side. Holding each other’s hands tightly, they began a nerve-racking journey through the interior of the ship.

Once they got to the starboard side, the family found that no lifeboats were available.

“Soon after, a rescue vessel came towards us; its roof was in line with the deck and we had to jump onto the roof,” said Faizal.

The family made their way across to an opening to reach the seating area.

Zahra fell down the opening, but was caught by her brother before hitting the ground.

At about 1am, the vessel made its way to the small island of Giglio. The family sat huddled in the icy cold temperatures for three hours before transportation was provided to a hotel in Rome.

Mike van Dijk, of Pretoria, and his wife were also rescued.

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