Schettino Withdraws Day Release Request Due to Work Placement Issues
Rome: Former Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino has withdrawn his request to be granted a day-release regime due to problems related to obtaining a suitable work placement, his lawyer Francesca Carnicelli said on Tuesday following a hearing in the city.
According to Ansa News Agency, Schettino may present a new request in the future if a fitting work-placement opportunity arises. Schettino is currently serving a 16-year sentence at Rome’s Rebibbia prison for multiple manslaughter charges connected to the 2012 cruise ship disaster off Tuscany’s Giglio Island, which resulted in the loss of 32 lives.
Schettino was at the helm during Italy’s most devastating postwar maritime disaster, caused by his decision to navigate the liner dangerously close to the island’s coast as part of a “salute” maneuver to those on land. He was infamously labeled “captain coward” by the media for abandoning the ship before ensuring all passengers were safely evacuated.
The tragedy struck on the night of Friday, January 13, 2012, when the cruise ship, carrying 3,216 passengers and 1,013 crew members, collided with an underwater rock formation off the island’s east coast. The impact opened a 70-meter-wide hole on the ship’s left hull side. Fortunately, the vessel ran aground north of the island’s port at Punta Gabbianara, preventing it from sinking to the 100-meter-deep sea floor.
In addition to the 32 fatalities directly resulting from the disaster, a diver also lost his life while working on the ship’s wreckage.