PORTO SANTO STEFANO, Italy — Divers searched the submerged part of a luxury cruise liner that went aground off Italy’s coast in case any of the dozens of people unaccounted for might be trapped inside, a coast guard official said Saturday, as passengers described a delayed and terrifying evacuation.

Three bodies were recovered from the sea after the Costa Concordia ran aground off the tiny island of Giglio near the coast of Tuscany late Friday, tearing a 160-foot (50-meter) gash in its hull and sending in a rush of water.