GROSSETO,
Italy (AP) — A theater in Italy turned into a courtroom Monday,
providing extra space for all those who needed to hear the evidence
against the captain of a shipwrecked cruise ship.
The case of
Francesco Schettino, 51, has generated such interest that the Tuscan
city of Grosseto chose the larger space to accommodate all those who had
a legitimate claim to be at the closed-door hearing.
Thirty-two
people died after Schettino, in a stunt, took the Costa Concordia cruise
ship off course and brought it close to the Tuscan island of Giglio on
Jan 13. The ship then ran aground and capsized. Schettino himself became
a lightning rod for international disdain for having left the ship
before everyone was evacuated.
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Schettino
appeared at the hearing Monday, as well as passengers who survived the
deadly shipwreck, the families of those who died in it and scores of
lawyers trying to get more compensation for them.
"We want to look
him in the eye to see how he will react to the accusations," said
German survivor Michael Liessen, 50, who attended with his wife.
Another survivor said he even talked with Schettino.
"When
he looked at me, I told him I was on board the Costa Concordia. He
stood up and we shook hands, as it is normal between two polite people,"
Luciano Castro, 48, who has published a book in Italy about the
disaster, told The Associated Press. "I told him I hoped the truth would
come out soon. In that moment, he replied, 'Yes, it must be
established.'"
Castro
added that Schettino appeared to be "very embarrassed. He was very
cautious, probably not expecting that somebody would approach him."
Wearing
dark glasses and a suit, Schettino used a back entrance to slip into
the theater, making no comment to reporters outside. Lawyers said he
listened intently to the proceedings, where his attorneys raised some
objections to the evidence being submitted against Schettino and eight
others accused in the shipwreck, including crew members and officials
from Concordia owner Costa Crociere SpA.
Nevertheless, one member
of Schettino's defense team, Francesco Pepe, seemed confident, saying
during a break that "responsibilities that aren't all Schettino's are
beginning to emerge."
Hearings this week through Wednesday will
help decide whether the judge will order a trial for Schettino, who is
accused of manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning ship while
passengers and crew were still aboard. He denies the accusations and
hasn't been charged. Any trial is unlikely to begin before next year.
Off
the Tuscan coast and just outside Giglio's port, the hulk of the
Concordia still lies on its side, resting on a rocky seabed ledge, the
object of gawkers and a painful symbol of the disaster for islanders and
survivors. Experts are carrying out a complicated salvage plan to get
the 1,000-foot long vessel upright so it can be towed to the mainland.
A
key question is how much of the blame should Schettino bear alone and
how much responsibility for the disaster lies with his crew and
employer, Costa Crociere, a division of the Miami-based Carnival Corp.
Costa
Crociere has denied that it was negligent and has distanced itself from
Schettino, firing him in July although he is fighting to get his job
back.
Last month, court-appointed experts delivered a 270-page
report of what went wrong that night based on an analysis of data
recorders, ship communications equipment, testimony and other evidence.
The
experts, who included two admirals and two engineers, laid most of the
blame for the collision with the reef and the botched evacuation on
Schettino. But they also noted that not all crew members understood
Italian, not all had current safety and evacuation certifications, and
not all passengers had had the chance to participate in evacuation
drills.
Schettino's lawyers had sought to have the captain's
Indonesian helmsman attend the hearing, but Judge Valeria Montesarchio
turned down the request.
Lawyers for some survivors and some
families of the victims are seeking to point blame at the corporate
level, alleging negligence. Among them is Peter Ronai, a lawyer for the
family of a Hungarian violinist on the ship who, survivors recounted,
helped children don life vests before perishing himself.
"The
reason people died was not the captain" alone, Ronai told reporters
before going into the hearing. "There was no reason for anyone to die."
Passengers
have recounted scenes of chaos during the disaster, with the lights
going out after the initial collision, plates and glasses smashing to
the ground and crew members giving conflicting, confusing directions.
Many
of the lifeboats became stuck and couldn't be lowered because the boat
was listing too far to one side. Some of the 4,200 people aboard jumped
into the Mediterranean and swam to Giglio, while others had to be
plucked from the ship by rescue helicopters hours after the collision.
"The
ship was as big as a shopping mall, there was dark, there was absolute
chaos, men were pushing women away, children in the back," Ronai said.
He said the reason people died was because the corporation was
"negligent in practices and safety procedures."
Schettino has
insisted that by guiding the stricken ship into shallower waters near
Giglio's port instead of immediately ordering an evacuation he
potentially saved lives. He has claimed that another official, not he,
was at the helm when the ship struck.
The timeline in the experts'
report, however, makes clear that Schettino had assumed command six
minutes before the ship struck the reef.
An American lawyer
representing more than 150 people in U.S.-based lawsuits against
Carnival Corp. said he came from Mississippi to closely follow evidence
that could be useful in his cases. Aside from seeking compensation for
his clients, John Arthur Eaves Jr. said he was pushing for improved
standards in the cruise industry.
"There is a consistent pattern
of lack of discipline ... and communication problems," he told
reporters. "This accident will happen again."
"The sooner we can resolve it, the sooner these victims can get back to rebuilding their lives," Eaves added.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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