- An Italian shipping company has been sued by French passengers over covid deaths on a ship.
- Costa Cruises is facing manslaughter charges after lapse in covid protocol that cause outbreaks and deaths.
- Improper disembarkation and lack of health facilities like masks and sanitisers were noted.
- The crew has been accused of keeping the passengers in the dark about the outbreak on ship.
- The cruise kept bars, restaurants and swimming pools open and encouraged people to use them.
- The company has refuted the charges saying the crew performed to the best of their abilities.
Italian Cruise Company, Costa Cruises are facing a probe on the serious matter of manslaughter on their cruises, reports Le Courtier.
COVID Death Probe
Cruises became a battleground for the coronavirus outbreak when the disease emerged. The situation is so dire that cruise business all over the world has literally halted. Amidst this, Costa Cruises are facing probe by French Investigators over covid related deaths onboard their cruise ships.
3 Costa Cruise passengers died on their dream cruise to the Caribbean as it couldn’t dock for treatment because of covid concerns.
The passengers of Costa Magica Ship died in March last year when the cruise didn’t halt anywhere. The ship authorities couldn’t dock at any Caribbean port as the countries banned new cruise ships in the area in fear of a covid outbreak.
Passengers Kept in Dark
The French government is probing the incident as all the 2303 passengers on the ship were French nationals. The passengers have complained that they were kept in the dark about the whole situation. They had no idea that there was an outbreak on the ship and 3 passengers were ill.
While this happened, the ship’s crew didn’t quarantine or restrict people; rather they kept the spas, restaurants and casino open without any health and hygiene protocol in place. This has led to the spread of the disease as 850 passengers along with the 3 covid deceased people filed complaints in France.
Charges of Injury & Manslaughter
At present, the judges are investigating injury and manslaughter allegations along with charges of deceit and endangering people’s lives and not assisting people in danger.
One passenger by the name of Stephanie Dubois revealed that there weren’t enough masks and hand sanitizer onboard the cruise ship. She revealed that desperate passengers literally swam 6 kilometres to the shore in a frenzy when the ship finally docked, making it clear the disembarkation protocol wasn’t followed.
Costa Cruises Denies Charges
However, Costa Cruises have denied the charges and said that the crew performed to the best of their abilities in face of imminent danger when there was no substantial information available. The cruise company denied that the passengers weren’t informed in time.
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Source: Le Courrier Australien
