should never have been where it was in the first place, should never have tipped over the way it did. commanded by a captain who according to authorities should never have done what he did before, during or after his ship first ran into trouble. the questions are many tonight. we begin with a moment by momen account of what we now know. around 9:30 at night, the lights go out president a this point, there doesn t seem to be much panic among the passengers. but some sense that there was something more serious than just a power blackout. they were saying everything is under control. there was an electrical problem. we looked at each other and said they re full of it. we have to get off the boat. in fact, the sky scraper-sized smip ran into rocks and was beginning to list to one side. now passengers begin to panic. [ screaming ] reporter: this amateur video shows the dark cold chaos as passengers try to flee the ship in life jackets. battling against gravity to get out.
the damage and the cries for help. the claim their government is out to kill them. cnn s nick robertson with an exclusive story. to the rescue. what does this now mean for you? i will be able to pay my mortgage every month on time. go back to the basics. solving the mortgage crisis. we find out this hour. that and more right here, right now on cnn. i m don lemon and we begin with breaking news. a major shake-up in the battle for president. he said he had a ticket to ride after finishing third, but the trip is over for jon huntsman. a senior official told cnn huntsman is dropping out of the race for president and here s a detail you heard first on cnn. he plans to endorse mitt romney. cnn s political reporter broke this news for us and joins us now. when is the official announcement? reporter: the official announcement will be tomorrow here in myrtle beach at the sheraton hotel where there is a big gop debate. the official endorsement will be here. he is going to
help, the claims their government is out to kill them. cnn s nic robertson with an exclusive story. what does this now mean now? i ll able to pay my mortgage every month on time. solving the mortgage crisis from a very unlikely savior. could he help save your home? we find out this hour. that and more right here, right now on cnn. this is cnn breaking news. i m don lemon. thank you so much for joining us. we re going to begin this newscast with breaking news tonight. a major shake-up in the republican battle for president. he said he had a ticket to ride after finishing third in new hampshire butt trip is now over for jon huntsman. huntsman is dropping out of the race for president. and he plans to endorse mitt romney. cnn pleas political reporter peter hamby broke this news for us. when is the official announcement? the official announcement will be tomorrow they sheraton hotel where there s a big debate sponsored by the republican party. the official endorsement
stone but they got it wrong. the new memorial to dr. martin luther king jr. needs to be fixed but how? i m wolf blitzer and you re in the situation room. dramatic new pictures of the dangerous search and rescue effort off the italian coast where a cruise ship the size of a skyscraper lies on its side half submerged. the costa concordia struck rocks on friday night with 4200 people on board. six are known dead. 16 remain unaccounted for including two americans. look at these extraordinary images showing the massive gash ripped into the ship s hull. italian prosecutors say the captain made a grave error and could face serious charges. cnn s dan rivers is on the scene. reporter: wolf, this picture says it all about how precarious, difficult and dangerous this search and rescue operation is proving to be. it s been called off for several hours after the costa concordia started shifting, all of the rescue and fire officers were wenched off in a scramble as they felt the su