AUSTIN, Texas -- Two Austin-area men who escaped from a sinking Italian cruise ship last weekend returned home Monday evening.
The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia hit a reef on Jan. 13, running aground and partially sinking. Fifteen people died in the crash, while another 17 remain missing.
Two of the over 4,000 people on board the ship were Blake Miller and Steven Garcia.
"When we hear the stories of what other people had to go through, people who had to swim to shore, all those nightmares, we feel we were very, very lucky with how we got out of there," said Garcia, after their flight landed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Monday evening.
Miller and Garcia managed to make their way to a lifeboat. Most of the belongings they took with them on the trip were lost.
"We were actually in the bar having a drink when it happened so we had our wallets in our pockets thank goodness," said Miller. "Some people didn't even get out with clothes. There were a lot of people who were barefoot and half naked and we feel very fortunate."
Miller and Garcia stayed in Italy for another week. Both agreed that the task of moving on will be easier now that they're back with the family and friends they love.
While Garcia said he'd be willing to go on another cruise, Miller said for him, that will never happen.
