Luxury cruise liner carried a treasure

ROME -- In the chaotic evacuation of the Costa Concordia, passengers and crew abandoned almost everything on board: jewels, cash, champagne, antiques, 19th-century Bohemian crystal glassware and thousands of art objects.

Now, a veritable treasure lies where the luxury liner ran aground last month -- a hoard enough to tempt treasure seekers, just as the Titanic and countless shipwrecks before have lured seekers of gold, armaments and other riches.

It may be just a matter of time before treasure hunters set their sights on the spoils of the cruise ship, which had more than 4,200 people on board.

"As long as there are bodies in there, it's considered off base to everybody because it's a grave," said Robert Marx, a veteran diver and the author of numerous books on maritime history and treasure hunting.

"But when all the bodies are out, there will be a mad dash for the valuables," he said

The Costa Concordia was essentially a floating luxury hotel and many of the passengers embarked on the ill-fated cruise with their finest clothes and jewels.

On top of that was the massive wealth belonging to the ship itself: elegant shops stocked with jewelry, more than 6,000 works of art.

The company still legally owns the ship and the passengers own their objects. So any treasure seekers would be breaking the law and subject to arrest -- and the looted objects subject to seizure, the Coast Guard said.

And for now, the ship's wreckage has been impounded by authorities and is surrounded by rescue workers, cleanup crews and scientists. Civil Protection, the agency running the rescue effort, says there is so much activity surrounding it that authorities don't see a risk of looting yet. It also says it plans to remove the wreckage before looters can reach it.