Costa Concordia
Death toll mounts to 17 in the Costa Concordia tragedy. Fifteen people are still missing. Reuters

The body of a woman was found in the submerged part of the Costa Concordia shipwreck on Saturday, bringing the death toll in the tragedy to 17.

Another 15 people are still missing in the disaster that struck the cruise ship off the coast of Italy on Jan. 13. The luxury liner was carrying about 4,200 people, including the crew.

Fears of an oil spill were raised as the ship started to submerge in the sea with 2,300 tonnes of diesel. The 290-metre long Costa Concordia met with the accident hours after it began its journey from the Island of Savona.

Meanwhile, salvage crews working on the vessel to empty the fuel tanks were forced to halt the operations because of bad weather.

Crews of SMIT, the Dutch salvage company, are supposed to restart the operation next week and it is expected to take about four weeks to complete, the BBC has reported.

The captain of the ship, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest for abandoning the ship before rescuing the passengers.

Italy