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Lakeville woman, sister survive Italian cruise ship disaster

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Jan 25, 2012 at 3:56 pm

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Lakeville woman and her sister had only been aboard the Costa Concordia several hours before they felt the cruise ship hit a bump near a Tuscan island.

Ronda Rosenthal met her sister, Vivian Shafer, boarded the ship for a weeklong Mediterranean cruise. Shafer is on leave from the Army.

Rosenthal's husband, Jeff, says the cabin steward told the sisters the ship was experiencing a "small technical difficulty.''

When the ship began to tilt and things started to fall off the table, the sisters headed for a lifeboat. The Star Tribune says when they finally made it to shore, Rosenthal called her husband in Lakeville to say they were safe.

At least six people have died in Friday's wreck. The search continued Tuesday for 29 people still missing. Family members say a White Bear Lake couple, Gerald and Barbara Heil, are among the missing.