Sunday Times 2
Italian court to decide on trial for cruise ship disaster
View(s):ROME, Oct 13 (AFP) – An Italian court will begin hearings on Monday to determine who could stand trial for a cruise ship disaster that left 32 people dead, amid accusations of safety breaches and fatal delays.
Hundreds of lawyers, scientific experts and survivors from the Costa Concordia tragedy in January are expected to attend the hearing in the Tuscan city of Grosseto, not far from where the giant liner lies beached.
Vacationers in front of the wreckage of capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia near Giglio Porto harbour (REUTERS)
The ship’s captain Francesco Schettino, five crew members and three managers from ship owner Costa Crociere are under investigation. The court will review expert findings into the crash before ruling on who, if anyone, should stand trial.
Schettino, who was described by Italian media as “Italy’s most hated man” in the wake of the January 13 shipwreck, is accused of delaying the evacuation and then abandoning ship before all the 4,229 people on board had been rescued.
He was placed under house arrest on the Amalfi coast after the crash, but was released on probation in July and has not been formally charged.
The captain could face a multiple manslaughter charge for performing a risky “salute” manoeuvre close to Giglio island where the ship hit rocks and failing to inform the authorities, causing a fatal delay in the ship’s evacuation.
The other crew members who could face trial are the ship’s second-in-command, three officers who were on the bridge when the crash happened, and a safety official who told the coastguard the ship had merely suffered a blackout.
Experts will present their analysis of data from the ship’s “black box” and other equipment on board, followed by statements from forensic police.
Some of the 126 lawyers representing survivors may also take the stand in the closed-door hearing, which is expected to last several days.
Schettino has insisted it was his skilled manoeuvring that stopped the ship from hitting the rocks head on. He also said a “divine hand” had guided him.
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