Dancer says she loves Concordia captain
The Moldovan dancer involved in the Costa Concordia disaster told Italian investigators she was “in love” with the captain.
Domnica Cemortan, 25, said she was on the bridge moments before the vessel hit rocks, forcing it to be grounded.
She was interviewed by prosecutors for nearly six hours on Wednesday in a police station in Grosseto, Tuscany.
Divers were reported to have found some of her belongings in Capt. Francesco Schettino’s cabin.
Italian press reports claimed that she had fallen for the skipper, even though he had a wife and a teenage daughter.
“I love him and it’s not right to destroy his reputation,” Cemortan allegedly told investigators. “Everyone is hammering him.”
Passengers have claimed they saw the dancer being wined and dined by Schettino, 52, soon before the accident at 9:40 p.m. on Jan. 13.
Cemortan told prosecutors the captain invited her onto the bridge as his guest to see the ship perform a “salute” for the island of Giglio.
The captain misjudged the manoeuvre, sailing to within 150 metres of the shore and smashing into a rocky shoal, ripping a chunk out of the hull.
He grounded the 950-foot-long vessel off Giglio and belatedly ordered the evacuation of its 4,200 passengers and crew.
The accident killed 17, with 15 peo- ple still missing, presumed dead.
Francesco Verusio, the chief prosecutor in the case, said Cemortan’s testimony would be key in establishing what happened on the bridge that night and whether the captain was distracted.
“There are many witnesses and each one will offer their point of view,” Verusio said. “We’re comparing all the different versions.”
Electronic data from the ship’s black box would also be vital, he said. Cemortan is not accused of any offence.
Schettino is under house arrest at his home in Meta di Sorrento, near Naples, facing charges of manslaughter and abandoning his ship before passengers and crew members. He could face at least 12 years in prison.
Cemortan worked for Costa Cruises as a dancer but she was on the weeklong cruise as a guest.