Woman's body found in wrecked Italy cruise ship

Rome (CNN) -- A woman's body was found Saturday in the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship, Italian officials said, taking the number of people confirmed dead to 17.

Rescuers have been searching the site since the massive liner struck rocks and rolled onto its side in shallow waters off an island on Italy's Tuscan coast on January 13, leading to a panicked overnight evacuation. At least 15 people remain missing.

Efforts to remove 2,400 tons of fuel from the liner's tanks have been postponed until at least Tuesday because of bad weather conditions, Italy's civil protection agency said. The operation had been expected to begin Saturday or Sunday.

Franco Gabrielli, who is heading the rescue operation for the civil protection agency, said Friday that 14 of the bodies found had been identified.

The discovery of a 17th body came a day after a handful of surviving passengers of the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship filed a lawsuit against the cruise line.

Lawsuit filed in deadly cruise crash Training for maritime disasters Concordia captain admits 'mistake' Couple filmed chaos on cruise ship. Earlier, Costa had announced it was offering each of about 3,200 passengers who'd been aboard the vessel a lump sum of 11,000 euros ($14,400), in compensation for their loss of property and emotional distress, as well as a refund of costs associated with the cruise.

January 28, 2012 - CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/28/world/europe/italy-cruise-ship/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn