Since the tragic Costa Concordia accident, people in Florida and all over the world have been waiting for answers. The January maritime disaster has resulted in 32 fatalities and countless injuries. After the accident, the captain who was in charge during the cruise ship accident was placed under house arrest. He was recently released and has offered his version of what happened.
The accident made headlines because of the sheer amount of damage that was done. The ship was sailing too close to an island when it crashed into a reef and sank. The story then took a turn when it was reported that the captain, who has been blamed by many for the crash, abandoned the ship and the passengers still onboard when it began sinking.
Now that the captain has been released from house arrest, he is offering his version of what happened. He acknowledges that he was distracted at the time of the accident. However, he says he was not the one technically in control of the ship, and says he had ordered a lower official to manually navigate the ship.
After the crash, chaos erupted on the ship. Rescue boats were not able to be lowered properly and delays forced many passengers to jump from the ship into the water below. During the confusion, the captain apparently evacuated the ship before all the passengers were taken care of.
The captain is currently charged with manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship while others were still on board.
As this point, the wreckage of the accident is still being investigated. Whether the captain’s actions were the direct and sole cause of the accident or not remains to be seen. When an accident happens offshore, there are different laws that are in place regarding maritime liability and injuries. We will continue to follow any developments in this devastating story.
Source: Fox News, “Captain of shipwrecked Costa Concordia says he was ‘distracted’,” July 11, 2012
