Cruise Ship Disaster: Passengers to Get $14K Each

January 27, 2012 Updated Jan 27, 2012 at 9:14 AM EDT

Giglio Island, Italy (Indiana's NewsCenter) - There’s a big payout for passengers who were on board the wrecked "Costa Concordia" cruise ship this month.

Reports say the company is offering passengers more than $14,000 each for lost baggage and psychological trauma from the crash.

Passengers will also be reimbursed the full costs of their cruise, travel expenses and any medical expenses they may have.

The offer follows a day of negotiations between the cruise line and consumer groups representing 3,200 people who were not hurt when the "Costa Concordia" capsized two weeks ago.

At least 15 people died and about another 17 others are still missing.

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As recovery efforts continue near the stricken cruise ship in Italy, salvage experts say they will soon begin pumping fuel from the site.

The chief of the National Italian Civil Protection Agency announced Monday that two more bodies were found at the site, raising the number of confirmed dead to 15.

In the meantime, Carnival Cruse Line which owns the ship is offering survivors a full refund on their trip as well as a coupon for 30-percent off their next cruise.

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Divers are searching for 19-people still missing from the capsized "Costa Concordia" as officials weighed whether to start pumping half a million gallons of fuel from the ship to avoid an environmental catastrophe.

The search continues around the clock, with divers focusing on areas where the missing were last seen, places where they might have gathered for evacuation and individual cabins.

There are concerns that the cruise ship's fuel tanks could rupture is the ship suddenly shifts.

Divers recovered two bodies this weekend bringing the death toll to-13.

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The Costa Concordia's first victim was identified as 38-year-old Sandor Feher from Hungary. Feher was an entertainer on the ship.

One of his colleagues said Feher was helping children put on life jackets before he went back to his room to get his violin and never came back.

The ship's captain Francesco Schettino remains on house arrest - facing possible charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship. But he's quoted in an Italian newspaper saying he didn't leave on purpose.

He now says he tripped and fell into a lifeboat which hauled him to safety while passengers and crew members fought for their lives.

When divers are able to go back to the ship - they'll be up to their shoulders in dark water and debris. But the grim reality is they're no longer looking for survivors. In Minnesota relatives of missing Jerry and Barbara Heil are still praying for a miracle.

The number of missing stands at 21 and that includes the Heils. One woman who had been on that list turned up alive, back home in Germany.

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Rescue crews have had to abandon their search for now for the remaining missing people from the capsized cruise ship near Italy.

More than a hundred divers had been searching the freezing waters day and night, but stopped after sensors showed the wreck, resting on a ledge and pounded by strong waves, shifted. There are new fears it could split, sink and spill fuel.

Once the wreck is stable, a salvage company may begin pumping fuel from the ship today. It's expected to take two to four weeks to remove all 500,000 gallons.

About two dozen people are still missing, and the death toll has risen to 11 after the bodies of 5-more victims were found Tuesday.

The ship capsized after it struck a reef near Italy’s coast last Friday.

The captain, Francesco Schettino remains under house arrest after he was questioned during a court appearance on Tuesday.

He faces charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship.

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The captain of that wrecked an Italian cruise ship off the coast of Italy is set to go to court for the first time since the accident occurred.

Reports say Francesco Schettino will be questioned during a hearing while facing possible charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship before it was evacuated.

Prosecutors say he caused the "Costa Concordia" to hit a rock and capsize while about 4200 passengers and crew were on board last Friday.

At least 11 people were killed.

The company that owns the ship says Schettino brought it too close to shore.

The death toll has risen to eleven after rescue workers blasted their way into the lower decks.

29 are still missing from the ships manifest of 4,211.

3 people, including a couple on their honeymoon, were rescued Sunday as workers searched the ship.

The "Costa Concordia" capsized near Italy Friday night after a rock tore a hole through its hull.

Panic then broke out on board.

Passengers blamed delays in organizing the evacuation.

American Survivor, Mark Plath says, “People started loading into the lifeboats, and there was just panic. People were pushing, it was just chaotic."

The ship's captain has been arrested on charges of manslaughter and for fleeing the ship before its more than 4,200 passengers and crew had evacuated.

He denies those charges and will have his first day in court Tuesday.

The ship's owner also says the captain apparently made "significant errors of judgment."