Spanish diver killed on Concordia was crushed by falling metal

Israel Franco Moreno, the Spanish diver who was killed on the wreck of the Costa Concordia, suffered fatal injuries when a chunk of metal fell on him underwater

Israel Franco Moreno in front of the Costa Concordia 

By Andrea Vogt, Bologna

1:31PM GMT 02 Feb 2014

A diver working in Italy on the Costa Concordia salvage operation died late on Saturday after being crushed by a heavy piece of metal being cut off the ship.

Israel Franco Moreno, 41, from La Coruna, Spain, was a professional underwater welder with Titan Salvage who had travelled the world on ship salvage operations.

He had arrived on Giglio just a week before Saturday's fatal dive - one of more than 15,000 that have been carried out in €600-million (£500m) salvage operation since the massive cruise ship capsized off Giglio island January 13, 2012. Thirty-two people died in the accident - 18 of them on deck four, which is near where Moreno was working when he was killed.

"Our community has once again been poisoned by a grave accident that that takes us back again to the tragic events two years ago," said Sergio Ortelli, mayor of Giglio.

Moreno was working in a team of divers around 4.30pm, in the area of the ship between deck four and deck five, according to the salvage officials. The divers were cutting off braces that protrude from the ship, and which served to extend the emergency lifeboats, in order to build a flat steel surface on the side of the 950-ft-long Concordia. The steel surface was to be used to attach additional "sponsons" - large tanks - to refloat and tow away the wreck.

Though the exact sequence of events leading up to the accident is still being studied, one of the metal braces being cut off reportedly fell onto Moreno, crushing his chest and causing a deep laceration in the groin area. For safety purposes, divers always stay in pairs. His "standby" diver came immediately to his aid and helped bring him to the diving platform at the surface, where he was still conscious.

On-site paramedics attempted first aid. But it took nearly an hour for additional doctors and nurses to arrive by helicopter from mainland Italy, then be taken by motorboat out to where Moreno lay bleeding. He died around 5.30pm.

The Grosseto prosecutor's office has opened a murder inquiry and ordered that the portion of the ship be sealed off - creating a crime scene within a crime scene, since the entire ship is being investigated as the related trials continue. Divers filmed the underwater accident scene on Sunday and those who were working alongside Moreno are said to be in shock, but helping investigators.

"We are profoundly pained that there is yet another victim," said Andrea Orlando, minister of the environment.

Once the ship is refloated and towed away, it will then be taken to a port for dismantlement - a process likely to take around two years.