Costa Concordia Captain Visits Shipwreck Site

Francesco Schettino went aboard with court-appointed experts as part of his manslaughter trial

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The former captain of the Costa Concordia visited the site of the shipwreck on Thursday for the first time since it crashed off the coast of Italy in 2012, killing 32 people.

Francesco Schettino went aboard the ship with court-appointed experts who were examining emergency generators on the ship, trying to find any evidence that something other human error caused the crash, BBC reports. Schettino is on trial for manslaughter, with authorities blaming him for causing the crash by taking the ship too close to shore. He claims the crash was also caused by poor emergency generators and an untrained crew.

When he returned to shore, Schettino was swarmed by reporters. He said he’s taken responsibility for his actions but also blasted the media, BBC reports. “There is a frenzy that is making me nervous,” he said. “You have to respect civility.”

Schettino is currently facing manslaughter charges for allegedly abandoning the ship before 4,229 passengers were saved. Witnesses say Schettino jumped into a lifeboat during the crash evacuation, but he says he fell into the boat. He denies any wrongdoing.

[BBC]