Captain Francesco Schettino, had previously been questioned by investigators in Porto Santo Stefano what happened when the passenger Costa Concordia 4200 struck rocks in the shallow waters off the western coast of Italy, said Officer Emilio del Santo coastal authorities of Livorno.
The government sought which do not hail a vessel distress signal in an accident near the Italian island of Giglio, on Friday evening, officials said. Ship is owned by Genoa-based cruises Costa.
"At the moment we can not exclude the possibility that the ship was a technical problem, and so went over to the rescue of passengers, crew and vessel. But they did not send distress. Ship has come in contact with us after the evacuation were already in underway, "said Del Santo before the announcement of the arrest. "Fear and panic are understood in a vessel of 300 meters with more than 4,000 passengers," said Del Santo. "We can confirm that the ship has a hole in the hull about 90 feet, and on the right side it is completely under water."
Three people were killed two French tourists and crew members of Peru, the port of Leghorn said.
Giuseppe Orsini, a spokesman for the local civil protection agency said 43 to 51 people still missing, but authorities say passenger lists to confirm the exact number. "These people are still on the island of Giglio, in private homes or in hospitals," said Orsini.
The Coast Guard says 50 to 70 people may be missing.
Surviving crew members, Rosalyn Rincon, 30, Blackpool, England, said she wanted to know why the cruise ship sailing so close to shore. She told a harrowing world of the ship, including failures and rising sea level is called the film "Titanic," she said. "I am rather angry, and I want to know why we were so close to the coast," said Rincon, who works as a dancer on a ship and was entertaining the passengers in the completion of one revolution in a box with a magician, when the accident occurred.
Rincon sailed for three months, she said.
"I never thought something like this might happen," said Rincon.
The ship was 2.5 miles from the road when it hit the rocky shoals, according to the Italian Coast Guard. Local fishermen say coast of the island is famous for its rocky Giglio seabed.
Gianni Onorato, President of Costa Cruises, expressed "regret at the terrible tragedy" but said the cruise was not able to answer any questions that authorities are investigating. "Based on initial evidence - still preliminary - Costa Concordia, under the command of the master, Francesco Schettino, sailed her regular route from Civitavecchia in Savona, Italy, when the ship struck an underwater rock," Onorato said in a statement before the announcement of the statement of Captain.
"Captain Schettino, who was on deck at the time, immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and began a maneuver designed to protect customers and crew members, and started the procedure for the preparation of security possible evacuation of the ship," he said.
"Unfortunately, this operation was complicated by the sudden capsizing of the vessel, which made landing difficult," said Onorato.
Rescue teams worked through the night to evacuate more than 4,000 people on the Costa Concordia, Costa Cruises owned by Genoa-based, once ran aground off the coast of western Italy coast.Authorities said on Saturday that they believed they were all represented, but they do not have the final list of names. The huge ship, which lay on its side in shallow water Saturday evening, carrying about 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members when it went aground at about lunchtime.
Early reports that as long as six people were killed, but it is unclear why the number has declined. In addition, 14 people were wounded, Admiral Ilarione Dell'Anna, head of the coastal authorities of the port city of Livorno, told CNN.
A passenger told how the lights went out, and it becomes apparent that the ship hit something, prompting scenes of Willits chaos.Laurie Ontario, who watched a magic show with her husband in time, said CNN: "We heard scraping noise on the left of the ship, and then my husband said: "We pulled into place." A couple ran to their cabin for coats and life jackets before going to the lifeboat. Emergency instructions in English was difficult to hear, Willits said.
Panic spread as people scrambled to find a lifeboat in the dark as soon as the ship heeled to one side. Access to some of the lifeboats was difficult slope of the vessel in the water, adding to the confusion.
Willits and her husband, who managed to get into the boat about an hour to 90 minutes after the alarm was raised, can be seen from the dock at the island when the ship sank slowly until it was at an angle of about 90 degrees in the water. "I'm exhausted, I could not sleep, I'm hungry," said Willits, but said she was relieved to be able to call his family with the help of people on the island. The civil protection agency in the city of Grosseto, the provincial capital, said Saturday morning that emergency operation is still continuing and the ship remained under water.
The Coast Guard said that three helicopters were used to rescue passengers from the boat.
Evacuation efforts began quickly, but were "extremely difficult" situation of the ship, said in a statement on the website of Costa. Some passengers fell into the cold water during the rescue, ANSA Italian news agency reported.
Dell'Anna said an investigation is underway.
"It was probably a technical problem," he said. "The ship was dangerously close to the coast. We worked all night in a maximum state of emergency. "Fortunately, the sea conditions have helped - if not, given the large number of people to rescue, 4231 - we could have a completely different scenario: the tragedy."
Many people helped in the first few hours were delivered in small churches and other buildings across the island to safety. Some of them are still in pajamas and slippers, they were on the ship sank, and wait for help on Saturday morning to set up reception centers on the island.
One of the victims was a woman of 65 years, died of a heart attack, officials said. Costa said it was concentrated in the final stages of emergency operations and to help the passengers and crew to return.
"This tragedy deeply affects our society. Our first thoughts are with the victims and we express our condolences and our proximity to their families and friends," Costa said on its website.
Concordia, built in 2006, was on the Mediterranean cruise from Rome with stops in Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo, as the cruise line. It is unclear how far the cruise grounding occurred. Most of the passengers were Italian and some French and German citizens. CNN affiliate Noticias America, Peru, told a group of 32 Peruvians were on board.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has worked with the Italian authorities for the determination of British citizens on cruise, a spokeswoman. Another ship Costa has been involved in fatal crashes in 2010, when Costa Europa hit a pier in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in stormy weather, killing three crew members.
