'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
The first victim from the Costa Concordia disaster was identified Wednesday — a 38-year-old violinist from Hungary who had been working as an entertainer on the stricken cruise ship.
An Italian coast guard official vehemently demanded that the captain go back to his crippled cruise ship to oversee its evacuation, but the captain repeatedly resisted, according to a shocking audiotape made public Tuesday.
Survivors who escaped a luxury cruise ship that ran aground and tipped over recounted a scene reminiscent of "Titanic" on Saturday, describing a delayed then panicked evacuation, as plates and glasses crashed around them and they crawled along upended hallways trying to reach safety.
Mr. Leporatti added that Capt. Schettino was upset by the accident, contrary to depictions in the Italian media that he did not appear to show regret.
Capt. Schettino's lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, told a news conference Wednesday in Grosetto that the house arrest made sense, given there was no evidence the captain intended to flee.
