Survivors of the ill-fated Costa Concordia testified for the first time on Monday, sharing dramatic details of chaos and bumbling crew members as tragedy unfolded on the cruise ship two years ago.
Testimony from emotionally scarred passengers came at the trial of captain Francesco Schettino, who is facing multiple charges of manslaughter and dereliction of duty for leaving his post.
“The crew were telling us to return to our cabins but we knew that we would be trapped,” passenger Ivana Codoni told the court in Grossetto.
“Instead, we rushed onto the decks to try to escape.”
Codoni said she remains an emotional wreck today, more than two years after the Jan. 13, 2012, disaster off the Isle of Giglio, which killed 32 people.
“Even now, I have panic attacks,” Codoni said. “They never happened to me before the accident.”
Another survivor, Claudia Poliani, said life on board was a big party — until the ship hit rocks.
“Suddenly, everything changed. From the happiness and excitement of being on the cruise, we passengers were struck by panic,” Poliani said.
“It was dark, we fell over, no one helped us.”
While the ship was going down, passengers said they could clearly see what was happening. But crew members insisted all was going to well.
“They told us that it was a technical fault . . . but we understood that it wasn’t,” survivor Rosanna Abbinante said. “The ship was pitching and I thought I would die like a rat.”
Schettino, dubbed “Captain Coward” because he was among the first off the boat, could face up to 20 years in jail.