The skipper of the Costa Concordia has claimed he abandoned ship after he “fell into a lifeboat”.
“Captain Coward” Francesco Schettino said he had no choice but to desert the £400 million liner and its thousands of passengers when it came to grief after hitting rocks.
Schettino, 52, has been released from prison and placed under house arrest after being held since Friday night’s disaster on suspicion of manslaughter, abandoning ship and causing shipwreck. If convicted, he could face 15 years in jail.
Last night, he and his wife Fabiola were inside their £175 000 apartment in the beautiful town of Meta di Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast after he arrived home in the early hours of Wednesday.
His release came as divers suspended their search of the Concordia on Wednesday when the partially submerged vessel started to slip from the rocks on which it has been precariously resting since running aground off the island of Giglio.
The death toll remained at 11 last night but the number of those missing was cut from 22 to 21 after a German woman on the list was found to have returned home.
Schettino made his bizarre excuse for leaving the ship during a three-hour court hearing in the mainland town of Grosseto before his release.
He told investigating magistrate Valeria Montesarchio: “The passengers were rushing all over the decks trying to scramble into the lifeboats. I didn’t even have a life jacket because I had given it to one of the passengers - I was trying to get them into the lifeboats in an orderly fashion. All of a sudden the boat listed between 60-70 degrees. I tripped and ended up in one of the lifeboats. That’s why I was in there.”
Prosecutors said his explanation was “curious to say the least” and added that he would also be subjected to drug and alcohol tests.
Despite freeing the captain, Judge Montesarchio wrote that he made no attempt to return to his ship and described his actions as “inept, negligent and imprudent”.
Amid reports that Schettino had vowed never to return to sea, a former captain who sailed with him claimed he handled ships “like a Ferrari driver”.
Martino Pellegrino said: “I’ve always had my reservations about Schettino. He was too exuberant. A daredevil. More than once I had to put him in his place.”
A coastguard who was recorded ordering Schettino to return to his ship, saying: “Damn it, get back on board” has become a national idol. Gregorio De Falco is the subject of Facebook sites and even T-shirts.
Another hero to emerge is Captain Roberto Bosio, who was off duty on the Concordia and gave the order to abandon ship after Schettino delayed for 45 minutes. He said: “Only a disgraceful man would have left all those people on board.”
It was also claimed on Wednesday that the theme tune from Titanic, My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, was playing on the ship at the precise moment it began to take on water. - Daily Mail