Costa Concordia: video appears to show Captain abandoning ship

 
Prosecutors in the trial of Captain Francesco Schettino release video which shows him standing next to a lifeboat before leaving the Costa Concordia on the night of the tragedy. Video: Reuters

Video released on Tuesday (December 2) appears to show the captain of the Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino, about to leave the cruise liner on the night of its shipwreck.

The images were filmed by an Italian fire brigade team that had been called to help in the rescue operation on January 13, 2012 and were released by the prosecution at Schettino's ongoing trial in Grosseto.

Schettino is currently testifying at his trial where he is accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the cruise liner. The prosecution has asked for a 20-year prison sentence.

On several occasions the captain has said he "slipped" into a lifeboat on the night of the tragedy but the video shown by the prosecution shows him standing normally next to a life boat still attached to the side of the ship.

The Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,000 passengers and crew when it struck rocks off the island and capsized, killing 32 people. The ship remained partially submerged near the port of the holiday island for more than two years before being raised and towed away this year in one of the largest and most complex maritime salvages ever completed.

The trial is set to continue into 2015.

Reuters

This video also appears in:

Costa Concordia captain found guilty of manslaughter Costa Concordia captain found guilty of manslaughter

February 11, 2015Francesco Schettino sentenced to 16 years in jail after cruise liner sank off Italy in 2012

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