Costa captain to face deaths charge
An Italian prosecutor has formally requested a manslaughter charge against the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which crashed into a reef off Tuscany last year, killing 32 people.
The prosecutors’ office in Grosseto also wants Francesco Schettino to be tried for causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship while the frantic evacuation of passengers and crew was still being conducted.
A judge must decide whether to order a trial for Schettino and five others crew members. Prosecutors also said Costa Crociere, the Italian cruise company, has asked for a plea bargain agreement which, if it was accepted, could see it pay an £880,000 fine.