Italy captain denies he abandoned ship

Jan 17, 2012 |

Grosseto (Italy)

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The detained captain of a stricken cruise ship which sank off the Italian coast with the loss of at least 11 lives, denied on Tuesday allegations that he had abandoned ship.

"The captain defended his role on the direction of the ship after the collision, which in the captain's opinion saved hundreds if not thousands of lives," Francesco Schettino's lawyer Bruno Leporatti said. "The captain specified that he did not abandon ship."

A recording has revealed that Schettino - who is reported to have sailed so close to the shore to please a local crew member - ignored a port official's order to return on deck after abandoning the stricken ship.

Leporatti said Schettino had not been able to get back onto the ship.

"The ship in that moment was tilted over by 90 degrees. You try and get back onto a boat that is at a 90 degrees angle without a helicopter," he said.

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