Fresh evidence emerged this week to suggest that the Captain of the Costa Concordia knew the ship was going down but ordered staff to tell passengers it was only a black out.
Recorded conversations from the bridge of the ship, obtained by La Stampa newspaper, show Captain Francesco Schettino saying:
"Madonna, what have I done?" just seconds after the ship rammed hit the reef off the island of Giglio in Tuscany.
According to reports in the Telegraph, he made a frantic call to the officer in command of the ship’s engine room saying: "So are we really going down?"
Then, three minutes later, he told an officer on the bridge not to tell passengers that there had been a blackout.
Eight minutes later he is accused by prosecutors and marine experts of making a similarly false statement to the Italian Coast Guard, saying: "We’ve had a blackout, we’re just evaluating … at most we’re going to need a tug boat."
The disaster in January led to the deaths of 32 people, including a five year old girl.
During the evacuation, the Captain is heard calling his wife to tell her that everything was "under control".
"We hit a reef, the ship is listing but I performed a great manoeuvre … everything is under control," he said, but added: "My career as a captain is over."
Capt Schettino faces charges of manslaughter, abandoning ship and failing to communicate with maritime authorities.
The next court hearing will start on October 15.
