Costa Cruises has had a complaint filed against it after passengers caught coronavirus while on holiday on the Costa Magica ship, in the latest cruise news. A group of 207 French passengers on the cruise liner have accused the Italian company of injuries and manslaughter as well as endangering the lives of others. The cruise in question took place earlier in the year.

The ship departed from Point-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe with 2,303 passengers on board, including more than 1,000 French holidaymakers.

The sailing went ahead despite the burgeoning health crisis at the time.

Costa Cruises is said to have told passengers no difficulties would affect the ship but they might not be able to stop at certain ports, reported French media.

The French passengers were allowed to leave the ship on March 15, more than two weeks after their departure.

More than 200 of them showed symptoms of coronavirus upon their return to France.

Three of the passengers died and others suffered very serious consequences.

Lawyer Philippe Courtois, who represents passengers on the Costa Magica, told AFP: “We need to know.

“All families need to know what happened. Why did this dream cruise almost turn into a nightmare?”

He added that the ship’s staff “were at fault, the passengers had virtually no information and only learned from local media that there were cases on the ship.”

From March 6 to 13, the ship was refused berthing in most of the Caribbean islands it visited, including Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Barbados and Saint Lucia.

As a result, passengers were encouraged to use the ship’s shops, spas, restaurants and the casino.

The complaining passengers allege there were not enough sanitary measures in place and that they were not told about suspected infections onboard.

The class action was filed in Paris with 180 complaints, including manslaughter, against Costa Cruises, their lawyer said on Sunday.

The lawsuit, which includes complaints from the families of three passengers who died from COVID-19, accuses the cruise line of negligence and various misconduct during its trip to the Costa Magica.

Express.co.uk has contacted Costa Cruises for further comment.

As a result of of the pandemic, Costa Cruises has suspended worldwide cruises until August 15.

The cruise line also hit the headlines last week after it reported three of its crew members tested positive for coronavirus onboard the Costa Favolosa and the Costa Deliziosa.

The Italian company currently had two of its cruise ships placed in quarantine in the port of Civitavecchia in Rome, Italy.

Two of the crew were sent to hospital while the third was in isolation on the ship.

Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.

Source: Read Full Article