The cruise company involved in the fatal sinking off Italy’s coast was at the centre of a legal battle over the death of an Irish school girl, it has emerged.

The Costa Concordia capsized by the island of Giglio, after it hit submerged rocks on Friday night. The Italian captain of the cruse ship was placed under house arrest on Tuesday, after he was interrogated by investigators for abandoning his ship.

Rescuers discovered five more bodes inside the wrecked ship on Tuesday afternoon. The latest discovery brings the death toll to 11, with 24 people still missing.

The Evening Herald reports the ship is owned by Carnival Corp (CCL), a company  that is being sued over the death of  Irish teenager, Lynsey O'Brien in 2006.

During a family crauise off the Mexican coast, the 15-year-old fell over board from the Costa Magica liner in 2006. The Dublin school girl’s body was never recovered. The teenager’s sister, Imelda, had seen her fall from the ship’s upper deck at around 2am. She had tried to help her by opening the balcony door but by the time she got outside, Lynsey had fallen 140ft into the sea below.

Soon after the tragedy it was discovered that the teenager was served a number of vodka cocktails earlier that night, despite her being under the legal drinking age.
___________
Read More:
Irish husband and wife tell of harrowing ordeal as Italian cruiser sinks

Read More news from Ireland on IrishCentral

Cardinal Dolan talks modern society and how sex is debased to “animal rutting”
___________
The parents of the deceased teenager took a compensation case against Carnival Cruise Lines, which has yet to be settled.

Speaking about the tragedy on what what would have been Lynsey’s 21st birthday, on June 3, 2011, her father Paul told the Evening Herald: "I will fight on until I have no breath in my body but someone will be made to answer for Lynsey's death.

"We boarded the ship, Costa Magica, with our four children on January 2, 2006.

"On the 3rd night of the cruise, our beloved 15-year old daughter, Lynsey, fell overboard and has not been found.

"[ ... ]This was supposed to be a cruise of a lifetime ... with old friends and their families, but instead, it turned out to be the worst nightmare imaginable. You do not expect to go on a cruise with four children and return with only three.

"There are many unanswered questions, but my family and I will not rest until we seek justice for Lynsey.

"Our family unit is all broken. We love you dearly, Lynsey, and we know you are watching and smiling down upon us from heaven.

"We are desperately seeking the identity of the young gentleman, who cared enough to throw the life buoys into the water, in an attempt to save our baby, Lynsey."