Grounded cruise ship stable, 2 more bodies found

GIGLIO, Italy — A civil protection official says the enormous cruise ship that tipped over off the coast of Tuscany is stable and there is no risk it will drop to a lower seabed.

Franco Gabrielli also said Monday that the search for people missing in the disaster and the removal of some half a million gallons of fuel from the ship can proceed in tandem.

Italian officials say two more bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of a cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan coast, bringing the number of confirmed dead to 15.

The national civil protection agency official in charge of the search said Monday that divers recovered the bodies of two women from the ship's internet cafe.

The recovery of the two brings to 17 the number of known missing in the accident Jan. 13 when the Concordia rammed a reef and sliced its hull with 4,200 on board. However, officials over the weekend said it appeared unregistered guests were on board at the time of the accident, meaning the number of officially missing could increase.

A firefighter spokesman says the search and rescue mission will continue until it is completed, despite health concerns for divers posed by decomposing food.