Captain's bizarre excuse when asked why he abandoned sinking ship after cruise disaster killed 33 people
The cruise ship captain behind the tragic Costa Concordia disaster gave an odd reason when he asked about where he was when passengers onboard were left to perish.
A total of 33 passengers died when the longest cruise ship in Italy sunk with 300 onboard.
Originally designed to sail around the Mediterranean back in 2005, the cruise ship required a crew of 1,100 to help run it.
But on 13 January 2012, the ship sunk as a result of a failed manoeuvre, killing a number of passengers.
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Francesco Schettino's excuse
As a result of his actions, former Italian shipmaster Francesco Schettino is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence, which began in 2016 after he was convicted of manslaughter for causing the ship's crash, and then jumping ship.
But it turns out that Schettino had a bizarre explanation when asked about the incident in court, claiming he accidentally fell into a lifeboat.
The 64-year-old claimed: "I didn't even have a life jacket because I had given it to one of the passengers.
"I was trying to get people to get into the boats in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, since the ship was at a 60-70° angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats. That's how I found myself in the lifeboat," he said in court.
The man known as 'Captain Coward' further explained that he was not distracted by a young Moldovan dancer before making the fateful manoeuvre, contrary to claims.
Domnica Cemortan, 24, was the captain's alleged lover, and confessed to an affair in court, though said that she was standing 'very far' from him and couldn't have distracted him.
According to the BBC, prosecutors said he steered too close to the island to show off to Cemortan.
But in Schettino's court testimony, he claimed he wanted to please his passengers, outlining there were three things he wanted to do.
He aimed to give his passengers a show, salute a retired captain on the island of Giglio, and appease the ship's head waiter, who was also from the Italian island.
"I wanted to kill three birds with one stone," Schettino said, while explaining he didn't think it was necessary to inform the ship's owners, Costa Crociere, about the diversion as it was considered 'an approach' rather than a 'touristic route'.
What actually caused the Costa Concordia disaster?
Schettino manned the ship that set sail on a seven-day cruise on 3 January, 2012, from Civitavecchia, near Lazio, on the Italian coastline.
But just hours after embarking, the cruise liner deviated from its course and approached 'sail by' Giglio, a popular holiday island.
That's when Schettino decided to try a maritime salute, a horn to locals, amid spotting a rock formation in the ship's path.
Schettino attempted to move the ship off its course, but reportedly was met with a language barrier with the rest of his cabin crew.
This resulted in the ship moving in another direction.
Despite a 13-second manoeuvre to swing the boat clear, the stern caught the reef, causing a huge 53-metre tear in the left side of the vessel.
The Costa Concordia began flooding all the way into the engine room, which left the ship without power.
As the cruise liner started to sink before the first rescue vessel arrived, Schettino made the decision to abandon ship 15 minutes later.
The final members of the ship's crew were still left on the bridge, even though there were still 300 travelling passengers on board.
25 patrol boats, 14 merchant vessels and several helicopters arrived and rescued as many people as possible.
But 33 lost their lives, with the body of the final victim only being recovered in November 2014.
It is estimated that the total cost of the ship sinking sits somewhere around $2 billion (£1.56 billion).
Topics: World News, Travel, Crime, Cruise Ship
Joshua Nair