are missing is not yet clear. because there is some discrepancy between the lists of passengers and staff. that the costa cruise has given to the authorities. so, there are still about a number between 50 and 70 people missing. they could as well not be dead. hopefully. they could as well still be on the island. maybe having slept in a hotel and not being alerted that most of the other passengers were brought to the italy. or eventually being held in a hospital. >> do you know, the people -- are there members of the cruise line who are there helping these people? are they getting the directions and the information? because many of these people lost everything they have, their identities are on that ship. their cell phones, the ability to communicate. who's there helping them? >> the costa -- the cruise company is helping them. we also have information that they're helping because apart from their goods, most of them left on the vessel, on the ship, also their documents. and some of them without a passport cannot go back abe they're foreigners if they live abroad. so the cruise company is helping them to -- through all the formalities in order that the passengers can go back home as soon as possible. >> okay. livia out of italy, thank you so much. we appreciate it. we'll be checking back in with you as we monitor this story, that ship slowly shipping there and divers in the water actually looking to see if there's anybody either in the water or perhaps still in the ship. and the sun's going down soon. so they're trying to do as much as they can now. let's bring in alexandra steele looking at conditions in the water and on the land around the island. give us the lay of the land. what this thip is encountering, what rescuers are encountering. >> it is a group of islands and this island is one of those islands. it's 17 miles long. and just want the show you, give you a little perspective on google earth and where it is. of course it is in the mediterranean and i was reading some reports of this happened at 10:30 at night. people had just gotten on to the cruise ship and a lot of them dressed in evening wear. women in dresses so the reports of freezing they were because they couldn't get to the rooms and in the dresses and happened at night. but in terms of the temperatures, how warm or how cold it is, this is where the ship is. it hit the eastern side of the island. topography there on the eastern side is a lot gentler than the western side. western side major steep cliffs and there are cliffs that go from the top about 1,500 feet all the way to the sea. so there's a look at where it is in the island, in the west side versus the east side. this hitting the eastern coast in the west rockier. but the water here is crystal clear. it's a huge site for diving. in terms of visibility, it is incredibly clear and some of the cleanest in all of italy. it's never that cold, as well, this water. water temperature on the whole between this time of year, between 55 and 65 degrees. air temperatures running between about 40 and 55 degrees. this happened at night. so probably about 42 degrees. but so temperatures not that cold in the water. obviously, at night, as well just in a little dress it's quite cold but it's very clear, the water. so it's really interesting to see what exactly happened with this. we'll try to find out more. weather not a factor. it was dry. no rain of any sort. and also, the surf and seemed very quiet, as well. very calm surf at that time. doesn't look or appear that weather really played a role at all, deb. >> what's amazing is looking at this ship and just how close it is to land there. one of the journalists said that passengers reported an electrical problem of some sort and you have to wonder whether the captain and the crew there was dealing with some sort of an electrical problem and didn't realize how close to land they actually are. and another point, and again, something very frightening for anybody who's taken a cruise. everybody grumbles with the life vests and go to the stations so you know which life raft to get in to. our journalists is telling because they just pulled out, they didn't do the drills. many people didn't know where they were supposed to be. in is there a sense of what the weather -- is the weather consistent at this time of year in that region or are we going to see, for example, larger, you know, swells or anything that could perhaps hamper the rescue effort? >> no. i think it's pretty consistent. the seas typically calm this time of year. the weather is in the certainly the water not cold this time of year. it's also crystal clear and as i said this is a huge diving mecca so you can just imagine how crystal clear those waters are for that. so it's really quite interesting to know that in terms of that, but the closeness and the proximity, about an hour and a half drive from rome to give you a big-time perspective but certainly a massive ship and the enormity of the ship, deb, talking thousands of passengers with 2,000 cabins. can you imagine the size of the ship trying to snake through the teeny little islands but the gravity and the monstrosity of the boat and the bigness of it. >> absolutely. these things are like little villages. again, 2,000 cabins. you have to multiply that, you know, many of those two people per cabin if not more with families. if this water is that crystal clear, you have to wonder whether or not fuel is an issue or oil's going to be an issue and whether the damage to the hull was so great to begin to see a spill. i'm sure that's one thing that authorities there in italy trying to deal with and cope with because the question is, how do you get that ship off of those rocks, off of that sandbar and either tow it to safety and looking at the pictures and the airline aerials, show it more submerged. at the same time you wonder if it's resting on the bottom there or sink altogether which is just going to be a horrendous problem for authorities there. the water, 50 to 60 degrees. obviously, is chilly. it is not the worst-case scenario. >> and in an evening dress. >> do you know, i mean, i assume -- we saw people in blankets wrapped up. >> right. 40 degrees at night. it was 42 degrees at night. you know? also, i mean, the gravity of this with the 4,600 people aboard at this hour at night and when you see it it looks like behemoth working through the little islands. really seems unbelievable. there are a lot of shipwrecks in this area, believe it or not. i think two major ones and what the divers go look at a huge diving mecca for people. that's why they go. the island isn't that inhabited. it's quite mountainous and lush vegetation. >> all right. thank you so much. we are now joined by one of our journalists who's before briefing all morning on the scene there now. barbie nadu, speaking to a number of the passengers. barbie, first of all, let's start. bring us up to date on the latest what you've learned so far. >> right now all of the passengers are off the ship, obviously. they're out of immediate area and dispersed to three different locations in italy to be flown back to their original homes or stay until their departing flights are to leave. a lot of these people have a return ticket eight days from now. what we don't know is what caused this accident. all of the passengers i talked to had the same story. electricity went off. they felt this incredible shuffling scraping sound and that was the boat running up on the sandbar and then immediately started to tilt and list to one side. there was little communication given by the cruise company in terms of emergency procedures. they hadn't yet done the safety drills that they usually do within the first 24 hours of the sailing so the people that i spoke to this morning, there were hundreds and hundreds of people here, about on this old abandoned school, basically. eating some cookies and being given blankets and water and all. they were all in a state of distress. they left their valuables on the ship. they didn't know where they were going to sleep that night. they didn't know how to get a hold of their family members to tell them they were okay. they were all in various states of shock and distress, let's say. but they're out of this immediate area right now. many of them are staying in rome and a town from which they departed for this particular cruise ship. the italian coast guard has given out a little bit of information. one, particularly interesting point, is that the ship never made a mayday call to the italian coast guard. they only got involved once the evacuation was already under way. which means the ship captain and the ship officials weren't calling out for help. so, that's going to be a key point in the investigation. the captain of the ship has been questioned already by port authorities here so i'm sure as the days go we'll learn more about just what the investigation will entail. and where it's leading. but it seems that this is nothing to do with bad weather or with bad sea conditions but probably a faulty equipment on the boat of some sort. the electricity at one point and running aground would seem to indicate they didn't have the proper steering. >> the mayday call very, very important. 50 to 70 people are now missing. are you seeing divers in the water? are you seeing -- are they trying to collect either belongings or right now are they focused really on some sort of rescue and recovery mission for those who have not been, you know, accounted for? >> right now what they're trying to determine before anything is if those people missing are a result of bad recordkeeping. if the manifest from the ship doesn't match the number of people who actually left on the ship. basically, trying to scary that. the authorities here first looking at this, is it possible administrative error. there are divers, though, looking at the ship right now. it's late afternoon here. the sun is low so in terms of the conditions, they'll -- they're going to perhaps -- probably stop in a couple of hours is what they're saying and divers out all day long at the ship trying to ascertain whether or not there are any bodies down there, whether, you know, anybody still left on the ship but they're leaning towards the idea that this is possibly an administrative issue more than an actual emergency in terms of accounting for 50 to 70 people. a lot of the crew members, as well, had been on this cruise ship, this has been a part of an eight-month cycle for a lot of people on the cruise are very, very long time. some of those people they're not sure if they had gotten off at the last port of call to finish their shift. that's some -- that's what the cruise company was saying earlier this afternoon when i spoke to them. there are all sorts of reasons for the discrepancy and could be bodies trapped under the ship. >> which is, you know, that also doesn't ingender a lot of faith if they don't know how many people were on that boat. there's certain cruises every time you go on and off, you have to swipe in so that they can account for every single individual. so in that sense, but what about do you know has the coast guard made any statements that the cruise line had any sort of record or any violations against it? were they having problems? is this one of the better cruise lines? >> well, no. this was -- this was -- this was a cruise line, a mediterranean cruise line that had in 2008 or 2009, i have to confirm that, 2008, had an accident where it ran up against port there. it had suffered some damage. but generally, the reputtable cruise line. a budget cruise line. people said it was the price. it was a good price for this type of cruise. also an offseason cruise. after the christmas holidays, these cruises are -- it was a full cruise but it wasn't an overly expensive cruise. a lot of people took it as a winter vacation for a good deal on it. >> sure, sure. >> safety records, they had no violations that we know of yet and the italian coast guard said that they had a clean record and reputable company. any of that kind of information may come out in the days ahead. right now, the cruise officials line have been working to help the evacuation on the ground in italy to try to get these 4,234 passengers and crew in to -- any place other than the tuscan seaside to try to get them to other cities to get them in to hotels, some food and clothing. you know, a lot of people are distressed and extremely tired and they're cold. they've been, you know, the weather's not bad here in italy this time of year but in the pajamas you are a bit chilly. >> absolutely. absolutely. i'm sure a number of people treated for hypothermia. barbie nadeau, thank you. we'll check in with you in a short time. thank you for the latest. we'll let you do more digging and then we'll check back in with you. thank you so much. that italian cruise ship there on the side listing. three people dead. 70 missing. turning now to politics, one week to the south carolina primaries and the gop candidates are fanning out across the state. we are heading there live coming up. i had a heart problem. i was told to begin my aspirin regimen. i just didn't listen until i almost lost my life. my doctor's again ordered me to take aspirin. and i do. 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[ female announcer ] the space of a small suv. the fuel efficiency of a prius. ♪ well, baby, can't you see the all-new prius v from toyota. ♪ come along with me and to politics now and the battle for south carolina. that state's primary now just one week away. mitt romney has a narrow lead in the polls there but check out where he stands in our new cnn/orc national poll. a commanding lead over the field. that's where he stands and that, of course, makes him the target of the other five hopefuls. >> primarily focused on the contrast with governor romney and then saying to people, if you look at the polling data, clearly, if conservatives are going to rally around one candidate it's probably going to be me. >> and joining me now from greenville, south carolina, with more on the action there, cnn political reporter peter hambian. the conservative vote is a diverse vote. there aren't just one set of conservatives to vote for one candidate and if this vote is split, well then, it's almost a shoe-in for mitt romney. >> reporter: you're absolutely right, deb. you know, evangelical voters, social conservative voters, they don't vote as a bloc entirely. i was struck last night by what speaker gingrich said right there, that conservatives are eventually just going to come around to him. rick santorum is getting very big crowds here in south carolina. they're kind of the two main candidates dividing the conservative anti-romney vote. but again, rick santorum did an event here in greenville and listen to what he said earlier. also, he is going after romney and ignoring newt, too. take a listen. >> looking for someone, we're looking for someone who can be the anti-establishment candidate. the establishment is trying to ram down the people of south carolina everybody else's throat governor romney as if he's the inevitable. >> reporter: so both -- santorum and newt gingrich going after mitt romney. governor romney likes that because, frankly, they're dividing up the conservative vote and like you said allowing him space to kind of scoot in to -- scoot out of south carolina with a win just by winning 25%, 30%. you can do that here, deb. it's an interesting strategy from the conservative candidates in the race. >> absolutely. obviously, to state the obvious, the way you win is just to get more votes than the guy behind you but let's talk about the impact of the tea party. they're holding a meeting this weekend. the evangelicals, also. they're trying to figure out who's the conservative candidate to get behind and it's not mitt romney. >> reporter: it's not. there was a conservative forum up here in greenville and spartanburg last night just talking to voters, you know, the stuff about romney's faith. there's obviously questions of mormonism we like to talk about. doesn't really come up and fundamental trust issues with mitt romney among conservative voters. you know? about his time in massachusetts, whether he's a moderate, whether he truly is opposed to abortion and that sort of thing. again, the voters are moving to rick santorum and newt gingrich. there's a tea party convention in myrtle beach with republican voters on sunday and monday. gingrich and santorum are both speaking there. it's a dogfight for conservatives and mitt romney is very happy about that, deb. >> absolutely. all right. peter hamby, thank you so much. the real question is whether in fact the conservatives can grudgingly get behind a candidate even if it's mitt romney. all right. peter, thanks so much. and of course, the debate that peter mentioned, you can see that in charleston right here on cnn thursday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. tensions are ratcheting up between the u.s. and iran. sparking fears of a potential showdown between the two powers. take a look at this video. what you're looking at, iranian military speedboats on the trail of the "uss new orleans." the video shot over a week ago in the strait of hormuz at the mouth of the persian gulf. the navy says iran's military is more aggressive using these small boats. this was the first of two incidents like this last week. here's pentagon correspondent barbara starr who spoke on "anderson cooper 360" last night. >> the thinking is that the iranians really were not looking far shooting match. they were going to break off but they were going to cause a little heart-stopping action before they did that. one of the things here is, look, the iranians gained some intelligence getting so close to u.s. navy ships, they were able to gauge the u.s. military response as they came at those ships. that gives them valuable information if the next time it's not just a cat and mouse game. >> iran threatened to shut down the strait of hormuz if international sanctions over the country's nuclear program are implemented. well, we're following breaking news out of italy. a cruise ship runs aground on a sandbar killing three people, as many as 70 people are missing. unaccounted for. we'll bring you the latest on the search and rescue coming up just ahead. changing the world one house at a time. that's the goal of one young man who's dedicated to helping others realize their dreams. meet justin churchman. he's this week's cnn hero. >> to give someone a home, it's from your heart and it's to their heart. you literally change their life forever. my name's justin churchman. i work with an organization called casas for cristo and build houses in waters, mexico. after i built my first house i just fell in love with it. it changed my heart and the way i saw the world. it's an addiction. >> he organized a team and at 13 years old led a group of americans across the border. he built a home and handed the keys of that home to that family in need. >> this is our first house that we built. we met this wonderful lady and i've just fallen in love with it. [ speaking spanish ] >> he had a goal pretty early on that he wanted to build 18 houses by the time he turned 18. >> and my parents got behind me and supported me and casas for cristo supported me and on my 18th birthday i completed my 18th house. >> he is absolutely a young wonder. he's changing the world one house at a time. >> do you know someone like justin who's making big differences in the lives of others? well, tell us about them. nominate them to be the next cnn hero. ju