Costa Concordia: captain ‘says he tripped and fell into lifeboat’

[Jazzy]

The captain of the crippled Costa Concordia cruise ship, Francesco Schettino, has reportedly said the reason he was in a lifeboat while thousands of panic-stricken passengers and crew were trying to evacuate was because he “tripped” and fell into the rescue craft.



Mr Schettino told investigating magistrates in Grosseto, on the Italian mainland, that he ended up in the lifeboat by accident.



During three hours of interrogation on Tuesday, he reportedly said: “The passengers were pouring onto the decks, taking the lifeboats by assault. 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 to 70 degree angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats. That’s how I found myself there.”



He said he got stuck in the lifeboat for an hour before it was lowered into the water off the coast of Giglio island.



Full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...n-says-he-tripped-and-fell-into-lifeboat.html

 

[Evil Eye]

If it took an hour to lower it into the water... shouldn't he have gotten out somehow?

 

[Fatal Dawn]

Garbage excuse. I'm interested to see what he and his lawyers will put up in court.

 

[Skillet]

That's a horrible excuse