A young Moldovan woman who says she was called to the bridge of the stricken Costa Concordia to help evacuate Russian passengers, defended its embattled captain, saying he worked tirelessly and "saved over 3,000 lives".

THE captain who allegedly abandoned the crippled Costa Concordia cruise liner will be released from jail and placed under house arrest.

Italian navy divers have set off explosives to create four small openings in the hull of a cruise ship which ran aground near a Tuscan island to speed the search for 29 missing passengers and crew.