Prosecutor seeks 26-year jail sentence for Concordia captain

Monday, 2 February 2015 00:13 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: An Italian prosecutor asked a court on Monday to sentence the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner to more than 26 years in jail for his role in the 2012 disaster that killed 32 people. Francesco Schettino was the commander of the vessel, a floating hotel as l

ong as three football pitches, when it came too close to shore and hit rocks off the Tuscan holiday island of Giglio. In summing up arguments at the trial in the nearby of Grosseto, Prosecutor Maria Navarro said Schettino should serve 14 years for manslaughter and causing injuries, nine for causing a shipwreck, three for abandoning ship, and a further three months for giving false testimony. The trial is expected to go to the jury next month. The prosecutor said that if he is convicted, Schettino should be jailed immediately because there was a risk he would try to leave the country. In Italy, most defendants remain free pending appeals trials More than 4,000 passengers and crew were on the ship when it capsized, prompting a chaotic nighttime rescue.