Stop the presses! On Friday, Schettino was accused by the liner owner's boss of misleading the company and crew after hitting the rocks. CEO Pierluigi Foschi told Italian state TV that the company spoke to the captain 20 minutes after the ship ran aground at 9:45pm local time.
He said they could not offer proper assistance because the captain's description "did not correspond to the truth."
Schettino said only that he had "problems" on board -but did not mention hitting a reef. Likewise, Foschi said crew members were not informed of the gravity of the situation. Passenger video shown on Italian TV showed crew members apparently telling the 4,200 passengers on board the $450 million ship to go to their cabins as late as 10:25 p.m. local time the night of the wreck. The abandon ship alarm sounded just before 11:00p.m.
The search for 21 people still missing in the Costa Concordia shipwreck resumed Thursday amid reports the captain was seen dining with a mystery woman - who may have been on board illegally --shortly before the liner crashed off the Italian coast.
The woman is believed to be Domnica Cemortan, a 25-year-old Moldovan, thought to be the same blonde woman seen dining with Capt. Francesco Schettino Friday evening, almost an hour before the ship struck a reef, killing at least 11 people.
The ship, operated by Genoa-based Costa Cruises and owned by Carnival Corporation, was carrying more than 4,200 people when it struck a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio late Friday.
Schettino made an unauthorized diversion from his programmed route and strayed into the perilous waters. Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Monday that he may have sailed close to the rocky shores of Giglio to please his head waiter who comes from the island.
Officials and witnesses said earlier that the disaster may have been caused by a risky practice of close-passing the island of Giglio in a foghorn-blasting salute to the local population.
Sources:
Annalys Fuentes
CNN International
Wikipedia
CBS News
Xiomara Garcia
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