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September 18th, 2013 
Peter Nolan “The last 20 months have been very hard for me, without doubt.”
(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
She has been closely following the ongoing trial of the captain of the ship,
Francesco Schettino, who is accused of recklessly sailing the vessel too
close to Giglio and then abandoning ship before the evacuation of passengers
and crew was completed.
“A lot of blame has been attached to him but I don’t want to pass
judgment,” she said.
“No trial or sentence will bring back what I’ve lost.”
Miss Vincenzi, who is a contestant in this year’s Miss Italy
beauty contest, is herself a survivor of the disaster – she was on board the
ship with her mother and was part of the chaotic evacuation of the night of
Jan 13, 2012.
(VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)
She managed to get into a life boat but her mother did not, amid scenes of
panic among the 4,200 passengers and crew.
“I’ve entered the Miss Italy contest as a tribute to my mother – we
agreed that after I turned 18 I would enter and she was going to follow me
every step of the way.” Mrs Trecarichi had embarked on the Concordia
for a week-long cruise of the Mediterranean to celebrate her 50th birthday.
Her husband, Elio Vincenzi, is with their daughter on the island.
“It is very moving to see the ship now that it has been raised out of the
water,” he told The Telegraph. “To see her in this state – a ship
that was carrying so many people, including my wife – makes a very big
impression on me.”
He said he was “very hopeful” that the remains of his wife would be
found inside the liner, after Italian authorities said they were “moderately
optimistic” that they would be able to locate the body.
(Marco Secchi/Getty Images)
Mr Vincenzi, a maths teacher from Sicily, has visited Giglio many times since
the disaster, and last year dived to a depth of 25 metres to place a plaque
inscribed with his wife’s name on the seabed, close to the rocks that the
Concordia hit and which ripped a huge tear in its port side.
He has been briefed by the Italian coast guard about the operation to
stabilise the ship, which he was told will take at least 48 hours.
“And then, hopefully, within a few days they will be able to enter the
vessel,” he said.
Kevin Rebello, 39, is the brother of Russel Rebello, 32, an Indian waiter who
is the second person whose body was never recovered.
Immediately after the disaster, he spent four months on Giglio, waiting for
news of his brother, and today wears a small silver medallion of the island
around his neck.
(VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)
Mr Rebello, Mr Vincenzi and Miss Vincenzi were ferried out to the wreck of the
Concordia to throw bunches of white flowers into the sea in memory of their
loved ones.
“We hope they can start work very soon,” he said. “When they
find the remains, my main priority will be to take him home and give him a
decent burial. At least we will have a tomb to cry on. It will bring a bit
of peace to my parents,” said Mr Rebello, who lives in Milan, where he
has a natural therapy business.
The Rebellos, who are Catholics of Goan background, are from Mumbai.
Russel Rebello died after giving his life jacket to another passenger, and
helping terrified holidaymakers into life boats.
Asked whether he regarded his brother as a hero, Mr Rebello said: “He
just did his job. He was not trying to prove himself. Unfortunately, he lost
his life in the course of that. Maybe he was sucked into the ship when it
went down. We hope his remains will be found inside.”
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