The final leg of a European vacation trip ended abruptly Saturday morning for three El Dorado County residents when an Italian cruise ship ran aground and tipped over on its side off the Tuscany coast, leaving at least three dead and a number of people unaccounted for.

Adam and Joanne Lynch of Pollock Pines and Phyllis Egan of Placerville were unhurt during what they described as a chaotic and somewhat unnerving experience, according to Joanne Lynch's sister, Melody Rainwater of Placerville.

By Saturday morning, according to the Associated Press, the ship was lying virtually flat near the tiny island of Giglio, its starboard side submerged in the water. A 160-foot gash, which initially allowed water to rush into the vessel, showed clearly on the upturned hull.

"Their cabin was on the dry side, and they were able to get out pretty easily," Rainwater said of the Lynches and Egan. Rainwater had a brief conversation this morning with her sister, who telephoned from the U.S. embassy in Rome to assure Rainwater they were safe. Like many of the other 4,231 passengers on the Costa Concordia, the trio spent the night on Giglio, where they took shelter in a church.

"The people there really took care of them," Rainwater said Joanne Lynch told her.

Along with the others, they were ferried today to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland. Rainwater said that the Lynches found the lifeboat evacuation disorganized and that passengers received very little or unhelpful advice and guidance from the ship's crew.

"Nobody knew what to do," Rainwater said. "They were treated very poorly."

According to Rainwater, her sister told her that passengers were given contradictory instructions. Some were told by crew members to jump into the Mediterranean waters, she added.

She said Joanne Lynch stepped into the breach and organized a group of 24 Americans, who made their way south to Rome, secured hotel accomodations, and went to the embassy to replace passports left behind along with all other belongings in their haste to abandon the ship.

"They are very organized and don't tend to get rattled," Rainwater said of the Lynches. She said the Lynches operate a children's consignment store in Placerville called Gorilla Kids.

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