Costa Concordia terror: ‘Men pushed to get to rafts’ (From Thisisdorset)

Costa Concordia terror: ‘Men pushed to get to rafts’

9:26am Monday 16th January 2012 in News By Jim Durkin

The sinking liner off the Italian coast

A RETIRED policeman who escaped the stricken liner Concordia says panicking male passengers pushed in front of women to get into lifeboats.

Edwin Gurd, 64, from Burley, said he was shocked as he watched the men force their way onto the boats.

The former chief inspector, who was aboard with his wife Liz, 58, also revealed how some passengers held up the evacuation by taking photos and video footage on their mobile phones as they clambered into life rafts.

Mr Gurd says the first lifeboats started to be lowered about half an hour after the ship first “juddered” when it smashed into a rock off the coast of Tuscany in Italy.

At first women and children boarded the lifeboats in an orderly manner, but as the ship started to list badly a number of male passengers started to panic and push towards the life rafts.

Mr Gurd said: “I couldn’t believe there were some idiots taking photos with their mobile phones, actually hindering people as they got into lifeboats.

“I expect they were looking to get their shots on U-Tube. Fair enough when you are safe and sound on land, but to try and take pictures while people are attempting to get into lifeboats was ridiculous.

“The men were stressing and panicking. They were pushing past women who should have got on first.”

Mr Gurd and his wife were in their cabin at 9.30pm when the ship hit the rocks.

“We heard this loud juddering and all the lights went out. We decided to head three decks up to our lifeboat muster station and as we left a staff member told us it could just be the generator had packed up,” said Mr Gurd.

Mr Gurd described how from the start he and his wife “had a feeling that something was not right” so the couple took their documents and lifejackets to the lifeboat station.

Despite passing crew members telling passengers “there was nothing to worry about” and urging people to return to cabins, the couple continued to the muster station because the ship was listing slightly.

“I looked out from the ship and saw the cliffs on the shore. They were only 50 metres away and I thought ‘what are they doing so close?’ The former policeman said the crew seemed to have problems lowering many of the lifeboats, particularly as the ship started to list dangerously.

“My wife got onto lifeboat 17, she was practically the last one on and I was told there was no more room, so I moved on.

“There was a lot of panic from the male passengers. I thought there was a real threat of crush injuries because of their actions.

“They were pushing past women to get to the lifeboats. I was very disappointed in their behaviour.

He said crew members acted “brilliantly.”

As Mr Gurd waited to board an inflatable lifeboat, the list had become so dangerous he was struggling to stand up.”

It was nearly an hour after Mr Gurd’s wife had escaped the sinking liner when finally one of the lifeboats, which had already taken passengers to shore, returned and he was able to board that.

Mr Gurd and his wife were reunited after arranging a rendezvous at the quayside by ringing home and speaking to their daughter Brenda.

The couple, who flew home from Nice last night, had paid £900 each to go on the week-long cruise.

Mr Gurd said: “We are happy to be alive, but I don’t think my wife will be wanting to go on another cruise again in a hurry.”