Shipwrecked Concordia captain's trial starts in Italy

The criminal trial of Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner that ran aground off the Italian Tyrrhenian coast last year leaving 32 dead and causing massive economic damage, began in the Tuscan city of Grosseto on Wednesday. Schettino, 52, the only person standing criminal trial over the accident, was at the helm when the Costa Concordia capsized nighttime on Jan. 13, 2012 with 4,252 passengers and crew on board, after rocks tore a long hole in its side off the Giglio Island. In total, 30 people died during the shipwreck and two have been missing with hundreds of others injured. The disaster caused an estimated economic damage of hundreds of millions of euros besides to some serious environmental consequences. An investigation revealed that Schettino deviated from the programmed route and piloted the ship too close to shore, likely to salute local residents. The captain abandoned ship while the rescue operations, delayed and chaotic, were still underway. The disgraced captain contended that he was innocent, insisting the reef was not marked on the ship's navigational charts, and claiming that by skillfully guiding the Concordia close to shore as it was taking on water, he stopped it sinking outright and saved thousands of lives. Schettino could face up to 20 years in prison if he is found guilty of charges including manslaughter, negligence, incompetence, abandoning the ship and failing to be the last person to leave the wreck. Wednesday's first hearing was especially focused on which parties would be admitted as civil plaintiffs in the trial, which involves hundreds of witnesses and is expected to last months. Among the people attending the hearing was a Moldavian dancer, Domnica Cemortan, who was on the deck of the cruise ship on the night of the shipwreck and was said to be romantically involved with Schettino, although she denied reports saying that her suitcase was found in his room. Italian prosecutors in May rejected Schettino's plea-bargain bid, while accepted the pleas of five other officials. The cruise ship company Costa Crociere, a unit of Miami-based Carnival Corp., agreed to pay a one-million-euro (1.3-million-U.S. dollars) fine in April to settle potential criminal charges. Court-appointed experts said that the crew did not have proper training in safety drills and that the company had delayed alerting coastal authorities about the accident. The Concordia wreck has not yet been removed and continues to dominate the landscape from the beaches of Giglio Island, a famous touristic destination which registered big loss after the accident. The schedule for removing the ship has been postponed several times due to technical and budget issues.