Costa Concordia captain bizarrely claimed he ‘tripped and fell’ into lifeboat as he abandoned ship

The captain of the Costa Concordia claimed he had in fact “fallen into” a lifeboat when he abandoned the ship after it hit a rock and partially sank.

On January 13th 2012, the Costa Concordia cruise ship was approaching Giglio Island when it struck a rock off the coast of the island, in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The captain, Francesco Schettino, had decided to deviate off-course and perform a sail-by salute past the Tuscan island.

32 people lost their lives in total, when the ship started to take on water and ended up partially sinking. During the Netflix film Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea, it was explained that other crew members had seen the captain in a lifeboat. Francesco Schettino was later accused of abandoning ship, and manslaughter.

via Netflix

‘I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats’

During a hearing at his trial, Schettino gave the bizarre defence that he had “tripped and fallen” into a lifeboat, when he was accused of abandoning ship. He said he was trying to help others, and him ending up leaving the cruise liner behind was an accident.

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“The passengers were pouring on to the decks, taking the lifeboats by assault,” he told the judge. “I didn’t even have a life jacket because I had given it to one of the passengers. I was trying to get people to get into the boats in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, since the ship was at a 60-70° angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats. That’s how I found myself in the lifeboat.”

He then said he got stuck in the lifeboat for an hour, before it was lowered into the water off the coast of Giglio Island. Schettino added: “Suspended there, I was unable to lower the boat into the sea, because the space was blocked by other boats in the water.”

It was reported that alongside him in the lifeboat was Dimitri Christidis, the second in command of the Costa Concordia, and Silvia Coronica, the third officer.

via Netflix

Following a 19-month trial, the Costa Concordia captain was convicted of manslaughter, causing a maritime accident, and abandoning ship. In February 2015, he was sentenced to 16 years behind bars. He has still maintained his innocence.

Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.