The saga of the ill-fated Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia took a bizarre new twist as its captain, Francesco Schettino, says he FELL into a lifeboat and did not abandon ship.
The captain claims he tripped on deck and tumbled overboard, only to wind up in a lifeboat during a panicky passenger escape, and did not abandon the vessel as accused.
The captain's newly disclosed account, reported by the newspaper La Repubblica, came as divers were forced to suspend rescue efforts around the half-submerged vessel.
Not helping his cause? An audio recording of officials ordering him to get back on:
The ship's instability, coupled with unideal forecasts of stormy winds off the Tuscany coast, raised fears the hull could slide into deeper water and sink for good.
Italy's environment minister, Corrado Clini, said structural damage to portions of the ship could cause "potentially dangerous consequences for the environment."
The Italian authorities revised the missing figure Wednesday to 26. The official death toll still stands at 11, and Francesco Schettino has plenty of explaining to do.
He reiterated that he did not plan to leave the ship as it tilted toward the water.
"The passengers were pouring onto the decks, taking the lifeboats by assault," he said. "I didn't even have a life jacket because I had given it to one of the passengers."
"I was trying to get people to get into the boats in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, the ship was at a 60- to 70-degree angle. I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats."
"That's how I found myself there."
Schettino, 51, has been placed under house arrest. Criminal charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship are expected to be filed by prosecutors against him.
The Costa Concordia capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio on January 13 after the ship detoured from its programmed route and slammed into a reef.
Carnival Corp., the parent company of Costa Cruises, announced an audit and review of all safety and emergency response procedures across all the company's lines.
slaughterhouse cypher last man standing jim thorpe pa jim thorpe pa terry francona ios 5 release date
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.