The captain of the cruise liner Costa Concordia was released from house arrest by Italian judges yesterday who ordered him not to leave his home town while the case against him continues.
Francesco Schettino is accused of causing the accident on January 13th in which as many as 32 people died. Two people are still missing and are believed to be dead. Capt Schettino would also no longer be bound by the conditions of house arrest which prevented him from communicating with anyone apart from his lawyer and close family.
The judges’ ruling said that the period Capt Schettino had spent under house arrest had already had a deterrent effect.
Capt Schettino faces charges of multiple manslaughter, causing the accident and abandoning ship prematurely. A pre-trial hearing was held in Grosseto, near Florence, in March.
The giant Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,000 passengers and crew, ran aground off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio shortly after beginning a cruise of the western Mediterranean.
The captain is accused of wrecking the vessel by bringing it too close to shore where a rocky ledge tore a gash in its side, causing it to keel over and sink. – (Reuters)