A 17th body is recovered from the Costa Concordia, but at least 16 more people are missing as weather hampers efforts to remove a half-million gallons of fuel. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports from Isola del Giglio.
By msnbc.com news services
Published 11:55 a.m. ET
GIGLIO, Italy -- Inclement weather on Sunday has shut down search and salvage efforts at the site of the Costa Concordia cruise ship wreck off the island of Giglio near the Tuscan coast.
The ship shifted more than one inch overnight, and rescue divers were pulled from the water and are waiting for better conditions, NBC News has learned.
On Saturday, divers searching the submerged sixth floor deck found a woman?s body ? the 17th body found since the ship ran aground on Jan. 13. Sixteen people are still unaccounted for.
Related: 17th body found on Costa Concordia
Separately, a body found on the ship?s deck on Jan. 28 was identified as Erika Soria Molina, 25, of Peru. Molina was wearing a service uniform, and studied tourism in Peru and was born in the Andean city of Cuzco, southeast of Lima, the Associated Press reported.
High winds and rough seas delayed plans to begin pumping 500,000 gallons of fuel off the Concordia. That effort will likely continue midweek. A barge carrying pumping equipment that was attached to the capsized ship was withdrawn after strong winds and high waves worsened conditions for the divers working on the huge wreck.
DigitalGlobe
The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers, ran aground Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy. At least 15 people died in the accident, and rescuers continue to search for others missing.
The operation, aimed at preventing an environmental disaster in the pristine waters off a marine nature reserve, could take up to one month to complete.
On Monday, Costa is expected to present a waste disposal plan, NBC News has learned. Furthermore, the company is considering offers for ship removal. The company is weighing bids and is expected to make its decision -- based on method and costs -- in two months. The removal could take up to 10 months.
The Costa Concordia disaster is expected to trigger the most expensive maritime insurance claim ever, and has set off a legal battle in which U.S. and Italian lawyers are preparing class-action and individual lawsuits against the operator, Costa Cruises.
In a bid to limit the fallout, Costa, a unit of Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise ship operator, has offered the more than 3,000 passengers $14,460 each in compensation on condition they drop any legal action.
Related: Passengers on wrecked ship offered $14,460
The Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest, suspected of causing the accident by steering too close to shore, and faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship before the evacuation was complete.
The ship's first officer, Ciro Ambrosio, has also been questioned by prosecutors but the company itself has not been implicated in the investigation at this stage.
NBC News, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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