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The captain of the Italian cruise ship which ran aground late on Friday appears to have taken the vessel very close to the shore in a dangerous manner, officials said on Saturday.

At least three people died in the disaster. The huge, 290 meter long vessel, carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, ran aground in shallow waters off the Tuscan island of Giglio but the exact circumstances of the incident remain unclear.

"There was a dangerous close approach which very probably caused the accident, although it will be for the investigation to establish that fully," coast guard spokesman Luciano Nicastro told SkyTG24.

He said the captain then attempted a safety manoeuvre, setting anchor and bringing the ship closer to the shore to facilitate a rescue.

"This was an operation which allowed thousands of people to be taken ashore quickly and in a reasonably safe manner," he said.

The ANSA news agency quoted the state prosecutor of the town of Grosetto as saying that the captain brought the ship close to shore "very clumsily."

An Irish couple have been speaking about their escape from a cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Italy.

Seamus and Carol Moore from Clonmel, County Tipperary, were on the cruise for a birthday celebration.

Mr Moore said he and his wife got into a lifeboat which was overcrowded.

"My wife thought that when the ship fully lifted, that was when we were going to lose our lives."

"When I managed to climb up onto the roof of the ship, the first thing I noticed was what a beautiful night it was, a balmy night in the Mediterranean.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in the Republic is providing assistance to the couple.

Divers are searching rooms in the Costa Concordia, which is lying on its side 200m (650ft) off Giglio island.

It sank on the first night of a Mediterranean cruise on Friday. Most of its 4,000 passengers and crew reached land by lifeboats but some swam ashore.

Police have questioned the captain.

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.