Almost three years after the sinking of the luxury liner, the Costa Concordia, the body of the last person unaccounted for, namely Indian waiter Russel Rebello, was found today.
Workers in the port of Genoa, where the ship is currently being dismantled and turned into scrap metal, came across the not unexpected discovery in a cabin on Bridge 8.
The Concordia ran aground off the Tuscan island of Giglio with the loss of 32 lives in January 2012. Even though most of the 32 victims were recovered almost immediately, rescue workers failed to locate Mr Rebello’s body, notwithstanding a two year long recovery and refloat operation.
Divers and rescue personnel have long suspected that Mr Rebello’s body was still on the ship, conjecturing that he ended up being trapped because he had stayed behind to help panicked and frightened passengers get off the sinking vessel.
Today’s discovery would appear to support this theory since his body was found trapped under heavy furniture on that side of the ship which rested on the rocky sea floor in shallow water just 150 yards from the Giglio shoreline.
Although the body has not yet been medically examined in order to confirm its identity, port authorities are confident that it is the body of the 32-year-old.
Giovanni Calvelli, a spokesman for the port of Genoa, told Italian radio that the demolition workers found a trapped body, dressed in white shoes and navvy trousers.
Mr Rebello’s older brother, Kevin, who lives in Milan, confirmed this afternoon that the Civil Protection authorities had contacted him to tell him that the body had been found. As soon as the necessary legal procedures have been exhausted, Kevin Rebello intends to accompany his brother’s body back to their native Mumbai for a funeral service.
Ironically, even as Mr Rebello's body was being found today, the Grosseto trial in which the ship's captain Francesco Schettino faces charges of multiple manslaughter, of having caused a shipwreck and of prematurely abandoning his ship was sitting in session.
Capt Schettino was not in court today since the hearings involved damages claims made by a number of survivors against the Costa Cruise company which administered the Concordia.
He is due back in court on December 2nd when not only the public prosecution and lawyers for the survivors but also lawyers for the Costa Cruise company may have some awkward questions for him.
One of the most controversial elements in a trial certain to drag on for years is likely to be a reciprocal exchange of accusations between Costa and Capt Schettino.
The company may well accuse him of manifest incompetence (for having sailed too close to the island of Giglio) whilst his defence team will argue that neither the 1,000 plus crew nor the ship itself were properly prepared for a shipwreck.