Rescue crews are today using explosives to blast holes in the side of the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship – but hopes of finding anyone alive are fading rapidly. After officials said last night that there are 29 people still missing the death toll is expected to rise still further. This morning, reports that suggested a seventh body had been found aboard the shipwrecked liner were later denied by Italian officials. The partially-sunken liner slipped further into the sea during high winds yesterday and is now lying on its side in about 45ft of water. There are fears that the precariously-perched vessel could break completely free from its rocky ledge at any moment and plummet hundreds of feet to the bottom of the Mediterranean. There are also concerns that, if the vessel shifts even slightly, it could puncture its fuel tanks.