The eerie insight into the aftermath of the tragedy has been released as the search for bodies is postponed because of bad weather.

An underwater inspection found that the Costa Concordia had shifted its position by 3.5 centimetres, enough to make internal searches too risky for fear the vessel could slip into deeper waters.

The body count from the capsized cruise ship reached 17 on Saturday but Italian rescue teams said that the “noticeable” shift in the ship’s position meant that divers would suspend all search and rescue operations on Sunday.

With windy weather and choppy seas expected to worsen in coming days, salvage crews are not expected to be able to resume work until the middle of the week.