“I had no intention of escaping,” Fransesco Schettino told the court in the first hearing in the case today. “I was helping some passengers put the life boat to sea. At a certain point the mechanism for lowering it, Francesco Schettino fell tripped, blocked. We had to force it. Suddenly the system unblocked itself and I tripped and I found myself inside the life boat with a number of passengers.” Costa Concordia cruise ship death toll at 11, Costa Concordia mishap may cause $95 million loss to owners -
Schettino says once, he was in the lifeboat, he was trapped so that it was “impossible to go back onboard.”
He has however admitted that he had lied earlier when he had told officials that he had put down anchor after the ship had slammed into rocks. A video later revealed that no anchor had been lowered to stabilize the ship. The ship Costa Concordia was carrying 4000 passengers, 11 of them have already been reported dead. Cruise ship captain faces 12-year sentence,
Schettino is being tried for manslaughter. In a recording of his conversation with coast guards, they can be heard berating him for abandoning his ship. When he told them he had abandoned the ship, they say “And with 100 people still on board, you abandon ship? [expletive],” in response. “I didn’t abandon any ship… because the ship turned on its side quickly and we were catapulted into the water,” Schettino can be heard saying. Costa Concordia ,
They are seen continuously exhorting him to get back onboard. “Get back on board for [expletive]‘s sake!” they tell him at one point. Costa Concordia mishap may cause $95 million loss to owners - ,
Opinion in Italy seemed to be divided over the captain. While some see him as having been instrumental in saving the lives of 4000 people, others, especially commentators in the newspapers say that he exemplified all that is wrong with Italy. Costa Concordia mishap may cause $95 million loss to owners - ,
Source: nvonews
