Rome: The bodies of a young French couple
and three German tourists on board the shipwrecked Costa
Concordia cruise liner have been formally identified, local
authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.
Officials also identified the bodies of a five-year-old
Italian girl, Dayana, and her father Williams Arlotti. The
corpses were recovered earlier and were among the 32 people
believed to have died in the January 13 tragedy.
The families of the French couple, 25-year-old Michael
Blemand and 23-year-old Mylene Litzler, have been in Italy for
weeks awaiting news of their loved ones and visiting the scene
of the disaster on Giglio Island.
In a last text message to their families sent the night
of the disaster, Blemand and Litzler said they had put on
their life jackets and were boarding a lifeboat.
Their relatives have said they cannot understand what
happened and have voiced frustration with the lengthy process
of identifying the bodies.
The three German victims were identified as Elisabeth
Bauer, Brunhild Werp and Margrit Schroeter, according to a
statement from the prefecture in Grosseto, the town closest to
Giglio, where an investigation is under way.
Eight people are still officially reported as missing,
including three Germans, an American couple, two Italians and
an Indian crew member.
PTI
