Francesco Schettino claims he 'saved thousands of lives'
Choppy: The Costa Concordia continues to slip down from its rocky resting place, prompting fears it could soon plummet down to the bottom of the sea
Injured: One of the men helping with the rescue of the Costa Concordia was carried away on a stretcher following an accident this morning, after the ship slipped slightly down from its rocky resting place
Trawling: Police scuba divers scour the ship for survivors and bodies, using explosives to blast debris and other obstacles out of their path
Peeling the hull away: Rescuers use an inflatable raft to get to the blast points and continue their search for survivors. Debris and the 'sideways' nature of the ship have hampered rescue efforts
Race against the clock: The hulking vessel could slip and plunge to the sea bed at any minute
Brave team: The divers are working under the danger that furniture or debris could slip and crush them if the boat lists
Appearance: Police officers stand outside the Grosseto courthouse where Captain Francseco Schettino appeared before a magistrate
A hole created by micro explosions in the Costa Concordia as rescuers attempt to get to areas of the ship they haven't reached
Desperate: Passengers line up on the side of the Costa Concordia and move down along the side of the vessel during the evacuation operation
Discovery: A scuba diver is pictured dragging a body out from the stricken cruise liner Costa Concordia as the confirmed death toll rises to 11
Wreckage: Rescuers search frantically for any remaining passengers as hopes fade for the 24 passengers and crew still missing
The startling exchange was revealed as:
* Schettino appeared in court in Grosseto, Tuscany, for the first time and was told he faces up to 15 years in jail but insisted: ‘I did not abandon my ship. I saved thousands of lives.’
* A ‘race against time’ began to stop 500,000 gallons of fuel leaking.
* Divers used explosive charges to blow holes in the Concordia to create quicker entry routes for search teams.
Human chain: Rescue workers climb on to the Concordia in the faint hope that some passengers may be clinging to life in a freak air pocket
Tale unfolding: Five more bodies were found on the Costa Concordia, as the coastguard revealed how the captain refused to go back on board
Blasting through: The bright flash of an explosion shows where Italian navy divers have used 'micro-charges' to force their way through the hull of the capsized Costa Concordia - in a bid to find missing passengers and crew
Last night a judge granted Schettino, 52, release from prison to be placed under house arrest. He will have to stay at his £175,000 apartment in the seaside town of Meta di Sorrento near Naples, where he lives with his wife and daughter, while the investigation is continued.
But as Schettino faces the prospect of charges of multiple manslaughter, causing shipwreck and abandoning ship, the devastating transcript of Friday night’s events appeared to make a mockery of his claims that he had ‘saved’ lives.
In a series of increasingly desperate telephone exchanges with coastguards, the first conversation with Schettino – Concordia’s captain of six years – is only nine minutes after the luxury liner – containing 4,200 passengers – hit an underwater reef.
Even though it had suffered a fatal gash in its port-side hull, Schettino tells a worried harbourmaster that everything is fine, other than a ‘small technical problem’.
When officials again managed to contact the captain, who by now was safely on shore despite hundreds of passengers still being on board, he says he is unable to return as the liner has started to list.
Instead of obeying the orders, Schettino was reportedly seen getting into a taxi and leaving the scene as passengers were left to fend for themselves.
It has previously been claimed that the disgraced skipper steered to within 300 yards of the rocky shores of the picturesque isle of Giglio so he could perform a ‘salute of respect’ for a retired officer as well as to impress his head waiter’s family on shore.
He should have been at least five miles out to sea but insists the rocks he struck were not marked on his charts. He has also been accused of dining with beautiful women as the liner crashed into rocks and of raiding the safe before jumping ship.
Last night Schettino’s wife Fabiola came to his defence, saying: ‘Much of what has been published about his actions are still to be verified while those who know him well have testified that he is absolutely dedicated to his work and his professionalism as can be demonstrated by his quick, decisive actions which helped limit the consequences of the accident for all the passengers onboard.'
Meanwhile, hopes faded for the 24 passengers and crew still missing, including honeymooning bride Maria D’Introno, 30. The rest of her party jumped into the sea and swam to a nearby headland.
Her husband, Vincenzo Rosselli, 40, of Biella near Turin, said: ‘The main thing on my mind was for my 74-year-old father who has a problem with his hip. We all had lifejackets but Maria couldn’t swim and she was scared of the water.’
Anger: Hundreds of people are signing up to a Facebook group to berate the captain of the ship Francesco Schettino
Bruno Leporatti, Francesco Schettino's lawyer, addresses the media after his client says he saved 'thousands of lives'
Search and rescue: Underwater photographs show a diver searching the Costa Concordia, left, and a huge gaping hole in the vessel, right
Yesterday rescuers created a series of controlled explosions on the 117,000-ton ship so that the hundreds of cabins and corridors could be searched more quickly.
The idea was also to provide a vital escape route should the Concordia slip from its resting place on a rock and plunge 100 yards to the seabed.
Dogs have also been brought in to help with the search.
All are working under constant danger that waves or movement might send debris or heavy furniture crashing down on them.
In one part of the ship, a grand piano is said to be leaning precariously against an underwater wall.
Yesterday one rescue worker said it would need a ‘miracle’ to find any survivors in the flooded section of the ship as they would need a freak air pocket for oxygen and to keep dry to avoid hypothermia.
It was also claimed last night that junior officers led a ‘mutiny’ against Schettino and ordered passengers to the lifeboats after he delayed in giving the command to evacuate for an hour after hitting the rocks.
Extraordinary footage of Friday’s evacuation, shot by infrared video camera from a coastguard helicopter, emerged of hundreds of passengers on the hull of the upturned ship trying to clamber down a single rope to a few crowded, wave-lashed lifeboats.
One man said emerging from the terror inside the ship to find himself perched on top of the slowly submerging hull was ‘like waking up from one nightmare and stumbling into another’.
By this time, it was claimed, crew members were shoving their way past passengers.
One of the crew was screaming: ‘I don’t want to die!’
Sunk: Rescuers hunt desperately for survivors yesterday as the Costa Concordia remains lying on its side
