Costa Concordia: More bodies found in capsized ship

It brings to five those known to have died after the ship, carrying more than 4,000 people, hit rocks on Friday.

The coastguard said divers had found the bodies of two unidentified elderly men trapped in a flooded area.

Earlier three survivors were found, more than 24 hours after the ship ran aground near a Tuscan island.

Coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini said the two elderly victims were "found on the third floor in a meeting area section of the ship".

He said the bodies were being taken to the mainland for identification.

Shortly before they were recovered, Tuscan regional official Enrico Rossi said 17 people remained unaccounted for.

The ship's operator, Costa Crociere, said the vessel had been following its regular course on the first day of a Mediterranean cruise when it hit a submerged rock.

Police are investigating why the accident happened in calm conditions, a few hundred metres from the island of Giglio.

Officers began questioning the ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, on Saturday.

The chief prosecutor in the city of Grosseto told reporters that the vessel had "very ineptly got close to Giglio".

But Capt Schettino told Italian TV that the rock was not marked on his nautical chart.

"We should have had deep water beneath us... We were about 300 metres (1,000ft) from the rocks more or less. We shouldn't have hit anything."

He also also denied claims by prosecutors that he left the Costa Concordia before evacuation was complete. "We were the last to leave the ship," he said.

Capt Schettino, 52, has worked for Costa Cruises for 11 years. First officer Ciro Ambrosio has also been detained; Kazinform cites BBC.

To learn more go to www.bbc.co.uk