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Italian prosecutors ask 26-year jail sentence for shipwreck captain

Xinhua, January 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Italian prosecutors on Monday asked for a 26-year jail sentence for Francesco Schettino, the former captain of the Concordia cruise ship, for his role in the shipwreck that killed 32 people in 2012, Italian media reported.

Prosecutors at the trial in the city of Grosseto also requested Schettino's arrest. They said the former captain, who faces charges of manslaughter and dereliction of duty charges, could flee Italy helped by his many contacts abroad.

They described Schettino as someone who "optimistically overestimates his abilities" and "believes he is capable but causes a dangerous situation." His actions, they said, showed "monstrously gross negligence."

Schettino, 54, nicknamed Captain Coward by the Italian press, took the Costa Concordia too close to Giglio Island off Italy's western coast on Jan. 13, 2012. The huge luxury ship hit rocks, ripping a hole in its hull, and capsized during the night with more than 4,200 passengers and crew on board.

The captain abandoned the sinking ship even as its passengers were seeking to save their lives.

The body of the last victim was found last November aboard the wreck, which is currently docked at the northern port of Genoa for scrapping.

The crash also injured hundreds and caused huge economic damage for the company owner of the ship, Costa Cruises, and for Giglio Island, a popular tourist destination.

Schettino always denied the criminal charges, blaming the helmsman for the wrong maneuver and other members of his crew of misconduct.

He said in past hearings that he approached the island to give passengers a better view and fulfill the commercial demands of the trip, denying rumors that he wanted to impress a Moldovan woman who was with him at the time of the crash.

He also said he delayed ordering the Costa Concordia to be abandoned because he was afraid that passengers would throw themselves into the sea in panic. But according to experts, the death toll would have not been so dramatic if the captain had immediately decided to evacuate the ship.

Schettino is currently the only defendant in the trial, after other crew members and Costa Cruises officials reached plea bargains. The first grade court's verdict is expected in February, according to media reports. Endit