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I tripped into the lifeboat, says Costa Captain
The captain of the Costa Concordia has reportedly claimed that he tripped and fell into a lifeboat during the evacuation.
According to Italian press reports, Francesco Schettino told a judge during a preliminary hearing that the ship was at a 60-70 degree angle when he tripped and ended up in one of the lifeboats.
He said the Concordia was listing so badly he was unable to climb back on board, despite orders from the coast guard.
The ship ran aground when it hit rocks off the Tuscan coast on Friday with 4,200 passengers and crew on board.
The death toll currently stands at 11 with 21 people still missing. Rescue attempts had been called off yesterday morning as the capsized vessel slipped again, but they have now been resumed.
It has emerged that a five-year-old girl and her father are among those still unaccounted for. Her mother has appealed for the search to continue.
Meanwhile, one of the bodies found on the vessel has been identified as crew member Sandor Feher, a 38-year-old Hungarian violinist. He was reportedly last seen helping crying children into life jackets before returning to his cabin to get his violin.
While denying abandoning ship, Schettino admitted responsibility for crashing into rocks near the island of Giglio when he sailed close to the island to salute a retired captain Mario Palombo.
He reportedly told the judge: "I don’t know why it happened. I was a victim of my instincts."
He also claimed his saved the lives of many passengers by grounding the vessel close to the shore after it struck the rocks.
Schettino has been freed from custody and placed under house arrest.
by Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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