A New Zealander passenger on the Italian cruise ship in trouble in the Mediterranean is safe, New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) says.
Three people are dead and dozens are missing after the Costa Concordia hit a reef near Isola del Giglio late on Friday night (local time).
A ministry spokeswoman told NZ Newswire that consular assistance was being provided to the New Zealand citizen. The ministry was not aware of any other citizens on board but was checking.
Most of the 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members were quickly evacuated, but coast guards struggled to rescue around 200 people stuck on board.
The Costa Crociera company, which owns the vessel, said the ship was on a cruise in the Mediterranean, leaving from Savona with planned stops in Civitavecchia, Palermo, Cagliari, Palma, Barcelona and Marseille.
"There were around 1,000 Italian passengers on board, as well as 500 Germans and around 160 French," the company said, without giving details about the rest.
The cruise ship, which has 58 suites with balconies, five restaurants, 13 bars, five spa baths and four swimming pools, had set off from the Civitavecchia port near Rome earlier on Friday when it ran into difficulties.
NZN