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Costa Concordia captain Schettino begins 16 year in jail

Costa Concordia shipwrek

Costa Concordia shipwrek

FLORENCE, ITALY – The captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner has begun a 16-year jail sentence for wrecking the ship in a disaster that killed 32 people.

The supreme Court of Cassation ruled to uphold his 16-year prison sentence and lower court convictions for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.

Schettino is the only person to have stood trial for the maritime disaster off the Tuscan island of Giglio after a number of crew members and company staff reached plea bargains with prosecutors and were sentenced to three years each.

The disaster occurred after the cruise ship carrying 3,216 passengers and 1,013 crew members hit an underwater rock formation off the island’s east coast just south of its port at 21:45 on the evening of Friday, January 13, 2012, in a strong impact that opened a hole 70 metres wide on the left side of its hull.

In addition to the 32 people who died in the disaster, a salvage also died while working on the ship in 2014.

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