Channel 4 Commissions Costa Concordia Doc

Channel 4 Commissioning Editor David Glover has ordered a one-off, fast-turnaround doc about the cruise ship tragedy from Dragonfly TV - Terror at Sea: The Sinking of the Concordia for tx on Tuesday 31st January at 8pm.

Piecing together the evidence, this special one-off film for Channel 4 is going to explore the events leading up to this enormous cruise ship hitting a sandbar off the Italian island of Giglio Porto with devastating consequences.

With a capacity of 3780 passengers and at an impressive 290m long and 31m high, the ship was a palace of the ocean. So how did this boat, hailed as a glorious example of modern technology sink? And why do some critics say the design of these ‘mega cruisers' is dangerous? These are just some of the questions this film will examine as it tries to understand how, after a century of safety measures and technological advances, a ship with so many passengers can sink.

Using CGI and testimonial, this film will recreate a minute by minute account of the timeline to tragedy - featuring exclusive interviews with survivors, rescuers and world renowned experts. Using images of the wreck and footage captured by people on board that night, the horror of the sinking will be recounted and analysed. Featuring eyewitness and expert interviews, this film will try to get to the truth of the disaster that unfolded that night.

David Glover said: "The Costa Concordia was 69ft longer and two and a half times heavier than the Titanic. One hundred years on it will be interesting to see what has really changed."

Dragonfly Creative Director Simon Dickson and Head of Specialist Factual & Features Mark Roberts are executive producers.