The search for up to 40 people missing from the capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia will resume today with the first wave of Britons caught up in the drama expected to land back on UK soil.
Italian police have launched a probe into the maritime disaster that has left at least three dead, and are reportedly holding the luxury ship's captain and first officer on suspicion of manslaughter.
Teams of divers are set to continue their hunt for survivors who may be trapped in the submerged half of the ship, buoyed by the news that a man and woman were located alive inside the Italian-owned liner.
A team of firefighters successfully rescued the South Korean newlyweds, who were reported to be in a cabin two decks above the water line of the Mediterranean, before they were rushed to hospital for checks.
The liner got into trouble on Friday evening after apparently sailing off course and striking rocks a few hundred metres from the tiny Tuscan holiday island of Giglio. The impact ripped a 150ft gash in its hull, before the vessel began to list to the right and keel over as it took on water.
A massive coastguard evacuation and rescue operation was launched, but despite the panic among passengers the vast majority of more than 4,200 people on board made it to safety.
Some opted to jump into the sea and swim to shore, while others boarded lifeboats or were airlifted from the vessel by coastguard, navy and air force helicopters. Survivors took refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on the tiny island.
British consular staff were sent to the scene of the disaster, which struck in the centenary year of the sinking of the Titanic, to help the 37 Britons aboard the Concordia - 25 passengers and 12 crew members.
The ship's owner Costa Cruises said all were accounted for but the Foreign Office was unable to confirm this.
Christopher Prentice, the British Ambassador to Italy, said staff were making good progress in confirming the whereabouts and welfare of the British citizens believed to have been involved.
Asked if he could confirm the reports that nobody from Britain was injured or dead, he added: "We are going to be quite cautious about judgments and what we say in public until we really are absolutely certain of the facts."
It was thought some of the Britons had headed to Rome and consular staff were working to secure emergency travel documents for them to fly home after their passports were lost.
Investigators do not yet know what caused the liner to crash, but Italy's state television claimed the ship's captain, Master Francesco Schettino, and his first officer were being quizzed over the events.
Unconfirmed reports indicated they were being held on suspicion of "abandoning ship" and "multiple manslaughter". Those confirmed dead were said to be two French passengers and one Peruvian crew member.
The parents of two British dancers, who were working on the ship at the time of the accident, yesterday spoke about their daughters' ordeals as they raced to flee the vessel.
Sandra Cook, whose daughter Kirsty had to get down a rope ladder on to a boat to escape the listing Concordia, told BBC News: "I asked whether she had anything, she'd lost everything, and she said that she was lucky to be alive and very thankful."
Another dancer, 22-year-old Rose Metcalf, was performing on the ship when the incident happened and was one of the last to be winched to safety by a helicopter, her father Philip said.
Mr Metcalf, who lives near Witchampton, Dorset, also told the channel: "The ship rolled over on its side so they had to get a fire hose which they strung between the railings to stop them falling overboard.
"She thought she'd have to make a jump for it as it was dark and cold, like the sinking of the Titanic, but the helicopter then winched her off."
Fabio Costa, who worked in a shop on the ship, said there was a state of panic, and a number of people were jumping into the sea to swim ashore.
He added that once the emergency alarm was set off people started to panic and push each other in a bid to get into lifeboats.
The alarm was raised about three hours after the Concordia had begun its voyage from the port of Civitavecchia, en route to its first port of call, Savona, in north-western Italy.
Passengers revealed how there was a power black-out and large "boom" noise at around 10.30pm on Friday.
Malcolm Latarche, editor of global shipping magazine IHS Fairplay Solutions, said the reports could indicate the ship suffered an engine room explosion.
The expert said a power surge could have caused a malfunction in the generators feeding the ship's six diesel electric engines which was not overcome by back-up systems.
This would have caused the ship to lose navigational power and steering control and veer off course, he said.
According to Costa Cruises, around 1,000 Italians, 500 Germans and 160 French nationals were onboard, with around 1,000 crew members.
Gianni Onorato, the company's president, said: "I want to express our deep sorrow for this terrible tragedy that devastates us."
The Foreign Office gave contact details for the British Embassy in Rome for concerned friends and relatives.
The telephone number is (+39) 06 4220 0001, and the Foreign Office in London can be contacted on 020 7008 1500.
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William Gibbons, chief executive of the Passenger Shipping Association, which represents cruise ship company's in the UK, described the disaster as a "totally unprecedented incident".
Speaking on BBC Breakfast he said: "We've never known anything like this before, we don't know how it happened.
"The cruise industry is in a state of shock and our thoughts go to all the passengers and crew who obviously had a horrendous time evacuating the ship."
Mr Gibbons said cruises remained a "very safe and secure holiday" and vowed that any lessons learned from the disaster would be implemented by the industry as quickly as possible.
He added: "The industry will address all the issues as soon as we find out what happened and why it happened and the recommendations made by the International Maritime Organisation will be implemented as soon as possible."