Captain “Chicken of the Sea” claims he fell into lifeboat

The cruise liner captain accused of abandoning ship after he struck rocks off the Tuscan coast last Friday has reportedly claimed he could not lead the evacuation because he slipped and tripped into a lifeboat while helping passengers leave the stricken vessel.

Captain Francesco Schettino said it was an accident that he left the Costa Concordia, according to Italian press reports.

“The passengers were pouring on to the decks, taking the lifeboats by assault,” he was quoted as telling a judge during a hearing to determine whether he should be held in custody on charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship.

“I was trying to get people to get into the boats in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, since the ship was at a 60-70 degree angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats. That’s how I found myself in the lifeboat,” Schettino said.

The death toll among the 4,200 passengers and crew stands at 11, with 21 people still unaccounted for. Eight bodies have been retrieved from the grounded vessel, while three drowned trying to reach the shore. One of the bodies found on the vessel was identified on Wednesday as Sandor Feher, 38, a Hungarian violinist who worked on board the ship and was last seen helping to put crying children into life jackets before returning to his cabin to pack his violin.

Italian officials said a German woman who was mistakenly listed among the missing had been located alive in Germany.

Schettino, who was handed command of the newly launched, 114,500-tonne Costa Concordia in 2006, admitted responsibility for crashing into rocks close to the island of Giglio which tore a hole in the Costa Concordia.

“I don’t know why it happened. I was a victim of my instincts,” he said. He confirmed he sailed close to the island to salute a retired captain, Mario Palombo. He said he was not afraid of a drugs test. “I don’t do drugs and I had not drunk,” he said. By grounding the vessel close to the shore after it struck rock, he claims he saved the lives of many passengers.

A report released on Wednesday by the judge, Valeria Montesarchio, revealed Schettino was sailing at more than 15 knots when he struck rock and left the vessel while 300 people were still on board. After his “gravely imprudent” behaviour, Schettino remained “completely inert” on rocks as others scrambled to help the evacuation, the report stated.

The judge interviewed Roberto Bosio, a cruise ship captain who was aboard by chance and has been hailed a hero in Italy after he reportedly stayed on board to take charge of the evacuation.

The judge’s decision to free Schettino from custody and place him under house arrest is to be subject to an appeal by prosecutor Francesco Verusio, who said Schettino “doesn’t appear unhappy about what he caused” and could flee.

Verusio doubted Schettino’s story about falling into the lifeboat. “Even if he fell in the lifeboat, he could have got back on the boat,” he said.

Support for Schettino came from his parish priest, Father Gennaro Starita, who said the captain was being “killed” by a “media circus”.

On Giglio, divers searching for passengers on the half-submerged ship were urgently pulled off the vessel on Wednesday after sensors revealed the ship had shifted about 1.5 metres, following a smaller shift on Monday which prompted fears the vessel may move from the rocks on which is now lodged and tumble into 70 metre depths.

Navy divers had been planning to blow three holes in the hull with explosive charges after five holes blown on Tuesday allowed access to a lower deck where they found five bodies.

As the hope of finding passengers alive fades, Italy’s environment minister Corrado Clini said two weeks would be needed to empty the ship’s 15 fuel tanks of 2,280 tonnes of fuel to avoid the possibility of a leak.

The tiny port on Giglio has this week become a thriving hub for 600 rescue workers and journalists, prompting about 700 winter residents to reopen shops and hotels closed until the summer.

Relatives of missing passengers visited the port on Wednesday to meet officials and appeal for information.

Posters appeared on the walls around the port asking for news of Giuseppe Girolamo, 30, an Italian musician who was hired to play in a rock band on the Costa Concordia in December.

Girolamo was reportedly seen boarding a lifeboat on Friday before leaping back on board the cruise ship to help other passengers disembark.

Story by Tom Kington for the theguardian