British diver arrested after being caught souvenir hunting on the wreck of cruise ship Costa Concordia

The unnamed 42-year-old man was an employee of salvage group Titan, hired to raise the Costa Concordia from the seabed

Was caught by Italian police alongside three other Titan staff

Four were arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning and charged with theft and violating a crime scene before being released on bail

Titan said today they have dismissed all four men



A British diver is among four people held by police after they were caught red handed on the wreck of the Costa Concordia hunting for souvenirs.

The 42-year-old man from London, who has not been named and the others, an Irish man, 35, and two South Africans, 24 and 26, were all staff of the salvage group Titan - which had been employed in the laborious operation to raise the Concordia from the seabed.

Police said the men were spotted by CCTV cameras positioned around the vessel in the early hours of Saturday morning and a boat was immediately dispatched to the scene to investigate.



Arrest: A British diver has been arrested after being caught aboard the Costa Concordia, pictured, allegedly hunting for souvenirs

Titan has now dismissed all four men and they have been bailed by authorities in Grosseto, Tuscany until they appear before a court at a later date accused of theft and of breaching a sealed crime zone.

Lt Elisabette Spoti, of the paramilitary carabinieri police, said: 'The men were spotted by CCTV's positioned facing the Concordia and the security firm employed alerted us, and Titan as to the unauthorised presence of the four men.

'They were caught red handed with the ruck sack and the suspicion is they were trying to take items from the ship as souvenirs. They should not have been anywhere near the vessel as it is still a crime scene and as such sealed off.

'When they were held they had with them in their possession a rucksack with the Costa Concordia emblem on it. They had no permission to be on the ship and they were caught at 1.30am in the morning when no salvage operation was ongoing.

Red handed: The British man, 46, and the three other men caught in the early hours of Saturday morning were all employees of Titan - the group hired to raise the ship from the seabed, pictured

Disaster: The ship capsized off the coast of Giglio Island, pictured, in 2011, killing 32 people

'We are also carrying out checks to establish what exactly the role of the four men held was during the salvage operation.'

Lt Spoti refused to say whether there were other items inside the rucksack, but added all four had been charged with theft and violating a crime scene. She said the matter was now in the hands of the prosecutor at Grosseto where their trial will be held.

She added they were found by deck 8, named Portugal, of the 13 deck ship and that area has several outside cabins as well as executive staterooms - and all of them have safes inside.

Another police source said: 'The men said they were just looking for a few souvenirs and that they had no intention of taking anything personal, expensive or that would be of use to the investigation but that is not the issue. It is still a crime scene.'

On trial: Captain Francesco Schettino, pictured, is currently on trial accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a disaster and abandoning a ship

Titan said in a statement: 'Four employees have been dismissed after they were identified onboard the Costa Concordia without permission and in a zone that is off limits. The matter is now in the hands of the local authorities.'

It is not the first time that the wreck has been targeted by thieves - three months after she ran aground divers discovered that the ship's iconic brass bell, engraved with her name and the date she was launched had been stolen.

The 290 metre Costa Concordia luxury liner, carrying more than 4,000 passengers and crew, struck a reef off the island of Giglio in January 2012 after captain Francesco Schettino changed course in order to carry out a sail by salute.

Thirty two people died in the disaster and last month the ship was pulled upright after a laborious operation lasting more than a year. The remains of one of the two people still missing were discovered in the cruise liner.

Schettino is currently on trial accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a disaster and abandoning a ship with passengers and crew still onboard.