Rome: The chief executive of the company that owns the Costa Concordia cruise ship says the captain who grounded it off the coast of Tuscany did not relay correct information to the company or the crew after the vessel hit rocks.
CEO Pierluigi Foschi told Italian state TV on Friday his company spoke to the captain at 10:05 pm, some 20 minutes after the ship was grounded but could not offer proper assistance because the captain's description "did not correspond to the truth”.
Captain Francesco Schettino only said he had "problems" aboard but did not mention hitting rocks.
Foschi said crew members were not informed of the gravity of the situation either.
The Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it crashed and partially sank a week ago. Eleven people have been confirmed dead and 21 are missing.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, January 21, 2012, 09:33