GIGLIO, Italy — The owner of the Costa Concordia said Sunday that "significant human error" by the captain may have caused the cruise liner to run aground off the coast of Italy.
"While the investigation is ongoing, preliminary indications are that there may have been significant human error on the part of the ship's master, Capt. Francesco Schettino, which resulted in these grave consequences," Genoa-based Costa Cruises said in a written statement.
Earlier, two more bodies were found in the vessel's flooded stern, raising the confirmed death toll to five.
Schettino, 52, was taken into custody on Saturday after being questioned by Italian investigators trying to determine the cause.
There are growing suspicions that Schettino may have steered the vessel close to Giglio to salute a friend. Prosecutors believe Schettino had been intending to perform the nautical equivalent of a fly-by past the island's main port when the accident happened, the London-based Daily Telegraph reported. It had apparently become a long-standing practice for the Costa Concordia to sail close to the island in order to greet its inhabitants with a siren from the ship.
There were reports Sunday night that the vessel's current officers had a friend ashore, from the Italian merchant navy, that they wanted to salute in a similar manner.
In its statement, Costa did not directly refer to the allegations.
The cruise line praised the crew of the Costa Concordia as having "acted bravely and swiftly to help evacuate more than 4,000 individuals during a very challenging situation. We are very grateful for all they have done."
According to the Ansa news agency, the bodies of the latest victims — two elderly men —were found by scuba divers in a cabin. Both were wearing life jackets.
Hours earlier, firefighters rescued a third survivor, Marrico Giampetroni, who had leg injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
Firefighters found him after hearing noises coming from a partially flooded area of the ship. He was then hoisted onto a helicopter.
Two South Koreans, identified as honeymooning couple Hye Jim Jeong and Kideok Han, were brought to safety overnight, while 15 people — nine passengers and six crew members — remain unaccounted for, nearly two days after the sinking of the Costa Concordia off Italy's western coast.
Efforts to reach survivors were hampered by blocked doors and staircases, and scattered furniture inside the ship, which is half-submerged and listing 80 degrees with a crack in its hull.
"We still hope to find someone alive," Coast Guard commander Cosimo Nicastro told Tgcom24.
The confirmed dead include two French passengers and a Peruvian crew member. The three men are thought to have drowned after the ship hit a rock and then ran aground late Friday near Giglio, a small island off the coast of Tuscany.
"Many ships pass by Giglio to salute the island's inhabitants with a whistle. It is a beautiful spectacle to watch the illuminated ship from land. ... This time things went badly," daily La Repubblica quoted Giglio Mayor Sergio Ortelli as saying.
Officials say cruise liners normally sail 2 to 3 nautical miles off Giglio.
Prosecutor Francesco Verusio, the ship was so close to the island that hitting rocks was "inevitable." He noted that the captain was "certainly not the last to leave the ship."
