Holes blown in cruise ship to aid search

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.

Navy spokesman Alessandro Busonero told Sky TV 24 the micro-charges created four openings to allow divers “to enter easily for the search”.

The holes were made both above and below the water level.

Television footage showed the holes to be less than 6ft (2m) in diameter.

Mr Busonero said the rescuers were racing against time.

The cruise liner tragedy, in which six people have been confirmed dead, has turned into a potential environmental crisis, as rough seas battering the stricken ship raised fears that fuel might leak into pristine the waters around Giglio island.