Cruise captain Francesco Schettino: I was trapped after falling into a lifeboat

The captain of the capsized cruise liner has claimed he accidentally fell into a lifeboat and could not get back on board after his ship ran aground.

Francesco Schettino, who is accused of abandoning ship and defying orders to return as passengers drowned, said he ended up "trapped" in a lifeboat while trying to help people evacuate.

His defence comes after audio tapes revealed how a furious Italian coastguard ordered him to get back on board to oversee the rescue mission.

Schettino, 52, said he saved "thousands of lives" after the Costa Concordia sank off the Italian coast near the island of Giglio on Friday night.

But the audio tapes show that when coastguard officer Gregorio de Falco told him to "get back on board" Schettino refused, complaining that it is "dark" and he "can't see anything".

His excuse for leaving the ship came during three hours of questioning by Italian investigators.

During the hearing with investigating magistrate Valeria Montesarchio at a court in Grosseto, Tuscany, he said he had "not abandoned ship". He added: "The passengers were rushing all over the decks trying to scramble into the lifeboats.

"I didn't even have a lifejacket because I had given it to one of the passengers. I was trying to get them into the lifeboats in an orderly fashion. All of a sudden the boat listed between 60 and 70 degrees, I got trapped and ended up in one of the lifeboats. That's why I was in there. Once it was over the side the boat wouldn't lower down into the water because it was blocked by one underneath."

The death toll from the tragedy rose to 11 yesterday after divers searching the wreckage recovered the bodies of four men and a woman, all wearing life vests. Twenty four people are missing, including a honeymooning bride.

Last night, Schettino was released from prison and placed under house arrest. He faces the prospect of charges of multiple manslaughter, causing shipwreck and abandoning ship.

One of the officers on board the Concordia accused Schettino of skippering the liner like a sports car. Martino Pellegrino said: "If I had to make a comparison, we got the impression that he would drive a bus like a Ferrari." He added Schettino was an "authoritarian" who was often "inflexible" in the way he commanded the ship.
Mario Palombo, a former commander on the liner when Schettino was second in command, said he was "too exuberant" and "a daredevil".

It has been claimed that Schettino steered to within 300 yards of Giglio to perform a salute to a retired officer.