A gold-plated ship bell that became a visual symbol for the Costa Concordia cruise liner, which sunk off the coast of Italy in January, went missing, local media reported on Thursday.
The bell, which weighs several dozen kilograms and is adorned with the engraving “Costa Concordia 2006,” was eight meters underwater but that did not stop the unidentified thieves, reports said. The bell was featured prominently in footage from the half-sunken ship.
The area around the vessel is off-limits to all except investigators, journalists and divers working to prevent fuel leaks and keep the ship from sliding deeper into the sea. Police reported no leads as of Thursday.
Costa Concordia ran against a rock in the Tyrrhenian Sea on January 14 with some 4,200 people aboard, listing and partially sinking on impact. Twenty-five people died and seven are considered missing in the incident, which is tentatively blamed on captain’s oversight.
