Costa Concordia captain gives evidence
The captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner is giving evidence for the first time about the 2012 shipwreck off an Italian island in which 32 people were killed.
Francesco Schettino arrived some 45 minutes late for his trial in Grosseto on charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.
His lawyer described him as “tense, concentrated”.
The disgraced former captain has long said he looked forward to his day in court to vindicate himself.
His defence claims that no-one died in the collision itself, but that the failure of a back-up generator and supposedly water-tight compartments which were flooded created problems during the evacuation, when the deaths occurred.
Schettino is being tried alone after five other defendants reached plea bargains.
If convicted, he could receive up to 20 years in prison.
