By Debbie Emery - Breaking Celebrity News Reporter

After 18 days of desperate searching for survivors of the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster, Italian officials have been forced to pull out because of the risk to rescue workers.

Italy's Civil Protection agency made the announcement on Tuesday due to the unstable positioning of the ship’s massive hull creating too many safety concerns to continue, reported USAToday.com.

According to the statement, relatives and diplomatic officials representing the countries of the missing have been informed of the difficult decision.

As Breaking Celebrity News previously reported, the $450 million vessel crashed into a reef four miles off course near the island of Giglio on January 13.

Survivors described the chaos and panic on the ship as they desperately tried to escape, while Captain Francesco Schettino “tripped” into a lifeboat and was shuttled to safety.

Currently under house arrest while Italian authorities investigate the crash, Schettino faces charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship.

The death toll for the Titanic-like disaster has now reached 17, with 16 more p