The death toll from the disaster rose to 11, as divers found the bodies of
four men and a woman, all believed to be passengers in their fifties and
sixties. The bodies were found towards the stern of the ship after navy
specialists used explosive charges to rip open the hull.
The release of the transcripts came as Capt Schettino’s wife spoke for the first
time.
Fabiola Russo said she and her family strongly rejected “any attempt to discredit
him, and ask everyone to understand the tragedy and human drama he is going
through.”
All the accusations against the 52-year-old commander, including gross negligence
and abandoning his ship, were “still to be verified.”
The captain’s wife praised his “absolute dedication to his job and his professionalism.”
By steering the crippled vessel towards the tiny harbour on the island of Giglio,
where it ran aground, he had saved the lives of thousands of passengers, his
wife said in a statement.
A senior officer on the ship emerged as the unsung hero of the drama as it was
disclosed that he gave the order to abandon ship as Capt Schettino dithered.
According to statements from the crew it was Second Officer Roberto Bosio who
decided that they could wait no longer and gave the order to lower the
lifeboats while Capt Schettino ignored reports of flooding in the engine and
generator rooms.
A junior officer said in a statement: “For the first 40 minutes after the
impact the ship stayed upright. We could easily have lowered the lifeboats
from both sides. We would have reached dry land without even getting our
feet wet.”
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