Porto Santo Stefano, Italy (CNN) -- Rescuers reached two trapped honeymooners in the interior of a cruise ship more than 24 hours after it ran aground off a picturesque Italian island, killing three people, injuring 20 and leaving dozens unaccounted for.
The South Korean passengers, each 29, heard searchers calling out on the Costa Concordia, Italy's ANSA news agency reported early Sunday. Some passengers fell into the chilly waters during the rescue, ANSA reported.
Questions abounded: Why was the colossal ship so close to the shore? How well did the crew respond? "Every crew member who walked past shouted instructions, but the instructions contradicted each other," Smith said.
Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, was interviewed earlier Saturday about what happened when the ship struck rocks in shallow water off Italy's western coast Friday evening, said officer Emilio Del Santo of the Coastal Authorities of Livorno. Local fishermen say the island coast of Giglio is known for its rocky sea floor.
"Me and the crew, we were the last to abandon ship," he said.
The ship was 2.5 miles off route when it struck the rocky sandbar.
"What we know is the ship went really close to these rocks. The ship began taking on water Friday evening and the crew kept going because they believed the vessel could normally keep sailing, Nicastro said. Authorities also were looking at why the ship didn't hail a mayday during the accident.
"At the moment we can't exclude that the ship had some kind of technical problem, and for this reason moved towards the coast in order to save the passengers, the crew and the ship. The ship got in contact with us once the evacuation procedures were already ongoing," Del Santo said prior to the announcement of the captain's arrest.
'Chaos' as cruise ship hits rock Captain of cruise ship arrested Witnesses talk about cruise ship accident
Two French tourists and a crew member from Peru were killed, Port authorities in Livorno said. Nautilus International, a maritime employees trade union, called the accident a "wake-up call" to regulators.
"Nautilus is concerned about the rapid recent increases in the size of passenger ships -- with the average tonnage doubling over the past decade," said Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson in a statement. "Many ships are now effectively small towns at sea, and the sheer number of people onboard raises serious questions about evacuation."
Gianni Onorato, president of Genoa-based Costa Cruises, expressed "deep sorrow for this terrible tragedy," but said the cruise line was unable to answer all the questions that authorities are now investigating.
Rosalyn Rincon, a member of the cruise ship staff, said the captain told passengers there was an "electrical problem."
Concordia was carrying about 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members when it ran aground.
Fear and panic aboard crippled ship
Panic spread as people scrambled to find lifeboats in the dark as the ship quickly leaned to one side late Friday. Access to some lifeboats was hampered by the ship's tilt into the water.
"The people manning these boats were just cooks and shopkeepers," Smith said.
Cmdr. Buddy Reams, chief of the U.S. Coast Guard's Cruise Ship National Center of Expertise, said, "when it comes to cruise ships, in the event of emergency, cabin stewards or others would have safety roles," he said.
The Coast Guard inspects foreign-flagged cruise ships in U.S. waters twice a year, studying the competency of the crew during fire and abandon-ship drills, Reams said.
Vivian Shafer, a passenger from Maryland, told CNN there was no initial announcement after the vessel began its tilt. Costa Cruises, owned by parent company Carnival Corp., said it was focusing on the final stages of the emergency operation and helping passengers and crew return home.
Most of the passengers on board were Italian. Brazil's state-run Agencia Brasil said 53 Brazilians were on the cruise ship.
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