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Costa Concordia offers compensation to passengers

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By Caitlin Williams - email
The Italian Association of Tour Operators announced Friday that passengers of the Costa Concordia are likely to receive compensation. (Source: CNN) The Italian Association of Tour Operators announced Friday that passengers of the Costa Concordia are likely to receive compensation. (Source: CNN)

(RNN) - The Italian Association of Tour Operators announced Friday that passengers of the grounded Italian cruise ship, Costa Concordia, are likely to receive compensation of $14,460 each.

The Associated Press reports that this compensation seeks to reimburse passengers for lost luggage and psychological trauma after the ship ran aground and capsized.

[SLIDESHOW: Italian cruise ship wreck]

Passengers also will be reimbursed the full cost of their cruise, their travel expenses and any medical expenses sustained after the accident. The ship crashed into a reef near the Italian island of Giglio on Jan. 13. It now remains half-submerged as salvagers muse over the best way to safely remove it and the half-million gallons of fuel.

The association said the decision was reached during a meeting between Costa Cruises and consumer groups. The parent company of Costa Cruises is Miami-based Carnival Corp. Passengers can pursue legal action on their own if they aren't satisfied with the deal.

A total of 16 bodies have been recovered from the ship, while another 16 remain unaccounted for. Roughly 4,200 people were aboard the cruise liner at the time of the collision.

The cruise ship captain, Francesco Schettino, remains under house arrest and could face charges of manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning ship.

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