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mercoledì 24 settembre 2014

Schettino does not attend Costa Concordia trial hearing

Prosecutor demands DNA tests on human remains to identify victim



(ANSA) - Grosseto, September 22 - For the first time in over 40 hearings, Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino on Monday did not go to court while standing trial for wrecking the cruise liner he was commanding, killing 32 people. His legal team told the court, in the first hearing after the summer recess, that their client was sick. Schettino, 52, is on trial in the Tuscan city of Grosseto on charges of abandoning ship, causing a disaster and multiple manslaughter. Prosecutors claim his poor handling of the incident added to the tragedy.

On Monday, State attorney Alessandro Leopizzi sought a court order for DNA testing on human remains found on the Costa Concordia after the wreck of the luxury liner was raised from the under-sea platform where it had been resting following a delicate 'refloating operation' which lasted two and a half years and was completed last July. The Concordia struck a reef off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012 and capsized. The prosecutors in the trial, which started in July last year, said the human remains could belong to the last two missing victims, Maria Grazia Trecarichi and Russell Rebello.

A medical team representing civil plaintiffs also testified about alleged post-traumatic stress disorders among passengers who were stranded on the ship before they finally made it out, citing among them Parkinson's disease, dementia, and chronic bronchitis. Running in tandem with the criminal prosecution are numerous civil suits against Schettino, which can be heard at the same time.

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