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| Cruise ship captain 'off course' | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
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| The CEO of Costa Cruises, the owner of the ship that ran aground off Italy, says the captain made an "unapproved, unauthorised" deviation in course. | |
| Capt Francesco Schettino is suspected of manslaughter, but denies wrongdoing. | Capt Francesco Schettino is suspected of manslaughter, but denies wrongdoing. |
| Six people were killed and about 15 remain missing after the hull of the Costa Concordia was torn open by rocks late on Friday off the Tuscan coast. | Six people were killed and about 15 remain missing after the hull of the Costa Concordia was torn open by rocks late on Friday off the Tuscan coast. |
| The search for survivors has temporarily been suspended after the ship slipped in rough weather. | The search for survivors has temporarily been suspended after the ship slipped in rough weather. |
| "The company will be close to the captain and will provide him with all the necessary assistance, but we need to acknowledge the facts and we cannot deny human error," Costa Cruises Chief Executive Officer Pier Luigi Foschi told a news conference in Genoa. | |
| Mr Foschi said Costa's ships have their routes programmed and alarms sound when they go off course. | Mr Foschi said Costa's ships have their routes programmed and alarms sound when they go off course. |
| "This route was put in correctly," he said. "The fact that it left from this course is due solely to a manoeuvre by the commander that was unapproved, unauthorised and unknown to Costa.'' | "This route was put in correctly," he said. "The fact that it left from this course is due solely to a manoeuvre by the commander that was unapproved, unauthorised and unknown to Costa.'' |
| He said the ship was regularly inspected and had had a major check in November last year. | He said the ship was regularly inspected and had had a major check in November last year. |
| Oil spill fears | |
| At the emotional news conference, Mr Foschi fought back tears and apologised for the accident. | |
| Earlier, Costa Cruises said Capt Schettino had appeared to sail too close to land. | Earlier, Costa Cruises said Capt Schettino had appeared to sail too close to land. |
| Italian media have suggested he may have been taking the Costa Concordia close to the Tuscan island of Giglio to put on a show for the islanders. | |
| The ship is now lying on its side metres off the island. | |
| Environment Minister Corrado Clini said there was an extremely high risk of a damaging spill of fuel from the ship's tanks. | Environment Minister Corrado Clini said there was an extremely high risk of a damaging spill of fuel from the ship's tanks. |
| "The vessel has reservoirs full of fuel, it is a heavy diesel which could sink down to the seabed, that would be a disaster," he told La Stampa newspaper. | "The vessel has reservoirs full of fuel, it is a heavy diesel which could sink down to the seabed, that would be a disaster," he told La Stampa newspaper. |
| "As soon as possible, the fuel will be removed from the vessel. But we have to take into account the precarious state of the ship." | "As soon as possible, the fuel will be removed from the vessel. But we have to take into account the precarious state of the ship." |
| Mr Foschi said so far there were no signs of any leakage. He said 2,300 tonnes of fuel oil was contained in 17 double-hulled tanks and more oil was in another four reservoirs. | |
| Capt Schettino, 52, has worked for Costa Cruises for 11 years. The company said he joined the firm in 2002 as an official in charge of security. | |
| He was made captain in 2006, after serving as second-in-command. | |
| Like all captains in the fleet he took part in a continuous programme of training and passed all the required checks, Costa Cruises said. | |
| Capt Schettino has denied any wrongdoing, saying the rocks his ship hit were not marked on his nautical chart. | |
| "We should have had deep water beneath us," he told Italian TV. "We were about 300 metres (1,000ft) from the rocks more or less. We shouldn't have hit anything." | |
| He also denied claims by prosecutors that he left the Costa Concordia before evacuation was complete. "We were the last to leave the ship," Capt Schettino said. | |
| First officer Ciro Ambrosio has also been detained. | |
| Were you on the cruise ship? Were your friends and family on the ship? Are you on the island of Giglio? Did you witness the accident? You can send your comments to the BBC using the form below: | Were you on the cruise ship? Were your friends and family on the ship? Are you on the island of Giglio? Did you witness the accident? You can send your comments to the BBC using the form below: |
| Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here. | Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here. |
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