Costa Concordia video shows crew joking, then panicking

A video has emerged showing crew members joking then panicking as the Costa Concordia capsized, shedding light on events on board the stricken cruise ship after it hit rocks on 13 January.

The clip, aired on Italian TV at the weekend and apparently shot on the bridge, shows employees joking "we'll make it" as the cruise ship gradually lists in shallow water after being holed by rocks onoff the island of Giglio.

Then a passenger falls into the water and crew members shout in panic as they struggle to release lifeboats and fight to stop a heavy metal gantry smashing into one boat.

An earlier section of the video, which was previously aired on Friday, appears to show the ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, shrugging off the fate of passengers and saying "whatever" when told they were taking to lifeboats even though no order to do so had been given by the bridge.

Growing unease among officers is evident when one says: "What shall we do?"

Schettino is under house arrest, accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship. Seventeen passengers died in the incident and 15 are missing.

But according to Schettino's wife, Fabiola Russo, the video proves he knowingly steered the ship aground, yards from the shore. "He saved the lives of 4,300 people," she told Corriere della Sera, adding that Schettino "had cried with joy" when the video was shown.

A Moldovan dancer, Domnica Cermontan, who has told investigators she was invited on the bridge by Schettino before the impact, is thought to have taken the video, which is being scrutinised by magistrates.

As lawyers prepare lawsuits on behalf of passengers, Pier Luigi Foschi, the CEO of the vessel's operator, Costa Crociere, said on Sunday that bookings had dropped 35% and the firm could be forced to change name to escape the stigma of the incident.

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