Italian shipwreck captain facing new charge

ROME - Agence France-Presse

Oil tanker Elba (R) and oil recovery sea platform Meloria (C) are seen from a ferry during the extraction of fuel from the wreck of cruise liner Costa Concordia, which ran aground off the west coast of Italy, at Giglio island February 15, 2012. REUTERS photo

The captain of the sunken Costa Concordia cruise liner is being prosecuted for failing to describe to maritime authorities the scope of the disaster, Italian media reported Thursday.
 
Captain Francesco Schettino and his first officer Ciro Ambrosio are already being investigated on charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship before all passengers were evacuated.
 
The new charge was reported by the Italian news agency ANSA and daily newspaper La Repubblica.
 
On Wednesday, cruise ship owner Costa Crociere said seven other employees including three executives, were also under investigation for their role in the January 13 tragedy, in which 32 people are thought to have died.
 
Schettino is under home surveillance in his coastal village south of Naples.
 
According to leaked transcripts of his questioning by investigators, Schettino said Costa Crociere was aware of the scale of the disaster early on, but the company has indicated that he had deliberately misled executives.
 
The giant luxury ship hit rocks off the Italian island of Giglio and keeled over with 4,229 passengers and crew from 60 countries on board.