El palangrero O Genita, con bandera de Gran Bretaña, pero de capital gallego, fue asistido ayer a mediodía en la zona de Orkney, en la costa norte de Escocia. Hasta allí se desplazó un helicóptero, cuya intervención no fue necesaria, pero que tampoco habría podido evacuar a las 16 personas que iban a bordo a causa de la tempestad y los continuos relámpagos.
Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino insisted he had planned to be the last man off the stricken cruise liner. Photo: AFP
The captain of the Costa Concordia told his manslaughter trial that gravity, not cowardice, had been behind his decision to abandon ship with passengers and crew still aboard.
On a day when he also claimed that his decision to delay evacuating the stricken ship may actually have saved lives, Francesco Schettino gave a new version of his previous, widely derided claim that he had "tripped and fallen" into a lifeboat.