Concordia Captain at Dinner With Women During Crash

Francesco Schettino, the captain of the sunken Costa Concordia cruise ship was at a restaurant with two women when the vessel hit the rocks, one of the ship’s passengers told Italy’s RaiTre television channel.

The Costa Concordia, carrying 4,200 passengers, capsized after hitting rocks off the coast of Isola del Giglio last Friday night. Eleven bodies have been recovered, and a search for 24 missing people is underway.

Marco Monda said he was spending a honeymoon with his young wife and they were invited to dinner at the best restaurant on the ship. Schettino, he said, appeared at the same restaurant some 15 minutes later after they sat at their table at 9:00 p.m.

“The captain made his way between tables embracing two women - a blonde and a brunette. He was showing them the beautiful view from the restaurant,” Monda said adding that Shettino was still there and not on the captain’s bridge, when the ship crashed into rocks at approximately 9:45 p.m.

“The captain was among us at the moment of the impact and I am ready to write it down in black and white, as because of this damn captain I saw the face of the death,” the Italian passenger said.

He also said that the captain was first to flee the vessel like a regular passenger, leaving other people behind.

“He left elderly and handicapped to the mercy of fate. Crew members were helping us, but there were no officers among them,” Monda added.

Captain Schettino, 52, who is currently under house arrest, claimed that the ship hit a rock formation that had not appeared on nautical charts and had not been picked up by the ship's navigation systems.

According to prosecutors, Schettino was to blame for the crash and also fled the vessel when passengers were still stranded - a version apparently backed by a recorded conversation between Schettino and a port official. The captain has flatly rejected the accusations.