Captain Francesco Schettino Jailed Facing Manslaughter
go down with his ship.
Captain Francesco Schettino was in charge of the ship that ran aground off Italy. He is jailed and is being interrogated by prosecutors and a judge will decide on whether to keep him under arrest for allegedly abandoning the vessel before rescue efforts ended.
The questioning today in the city of Grosseto comes as details emerged about Schettino's actions after the Costa Concordia hit rocks off Giglio Island near the Tuscan coast at 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 13.
Schettino was ordered by a Coast Guard official to return to the cruise liner to help with rescue efforts about three hours after the accident, according to audio of telephone conversations between them posted on daily Corriere della Sera's website today. But he fled the scene.
“Get back on the ship and tell me how many people are still there,” Coast Guard Commander Gregorio Maria De Falco, speaking from the city of Livorno on the Italian mainland, told Schettino, according to the tape. “Tell me if there are women, children and people in need there.”
Schettino didn't return to the ship and took a taxi on Giglio before being arrested, media including Sky TG24 said. He is accused of manslaughter and abandoning the Costa Concordia when passengers were still on board “since we know he was in the harbor about midnight,” Francesco Verusio, chief prosecutor in Grosseto, said in a Jan. 15 interview. He is also accused of causing the accident that left at least six people dead.
A gay couple from Austin Texas escaped to safety. Fortunately the couple had read about the location of the lifeboats. - See why it is important to pay attention to safety features?!
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