when we found out about this at the central operating center, we immediately called the concordia, asking the captain how this happened. good evening, costa concordia, do you have problems on board? affirmative. we have a blackout on board. we are checking the situation. the information that they provided was so vague that it left out amongst anyone who has experience with the sea. the operating center immediately triggered rescue vessel, knowing at that point that we were dealing with a cruise ship with 4,229 people on board, many patrol boats were sent from all over italy. we decided let s grab our life jackets. let s go down to where the boats are and maybe there s something that s being arranged to let people know. once we got to where the boats were, that s when we saw the
take care of children and the disabled. that he did a great thing, saved over 3,000 lives by steering the ship toward shore. get the kids. go. go. you. you. you. reporter: but what she doesn t answer is why that call to evacuate came so late. at 10:12 p.m., a full 40 minutes after the ship ran aground, a port official radios one of the officers of the ship. do you have problems on board? the ship s response yes, affirmative. we have a blackout on board. it wasn t until a full 68 minutes after the crash that the evacuation began. the judge blasted the captain and crew saying the grave imprudence and incompetence is evident and indisputable. the rock embedded in the costa concordia s hull is a reminder of how the tragedy began. rescuers scaled the sides saelg searching for the missing in a desperate race against a coming storm. authorities worry storm waves could push the unstable ship into deeper water, and it may
we have a blackout on board. we are checking the situation. do you need assistance or for the moment are you only staying in the giglio area? yes, affirmative, we are staying here in the area to verify the blackout. what type of problem? only generators because they got a call from a relative a crew member who said during the dinner, everything fell on his head. no, negative. we have a blackout and we are verifying the conditions on board. yes. since the passengers said you made them put on life jackets, is this correct? i repeat, we are verifying the conditions of the blackout. so why so why aren t they asking for help? and can other crew members be held liable in this incident? joining us right now is the host of justice with judge jeanine pirro judge jeanine pirro. good morning. that s interesting. they knew, it was about a half-hour after they hit the reef and they re saying, our problem? we had a blackout. you know, it s not unusual for a lot of these ves
it gets a tad bit stranger. tonight she s defending the captain against the accusationings he abandoned ship. i ve heard in russian media that the captain left the ship first or among the first but this is not true. i m a witness. i don t know if i m invited to testify in the court or not but as a witness i can say i left the deck at 23:50 following an order from the captain who told me to go to the third deck, to get into a lifeboat that could take more people. but there is more. a new and disturbing recording released today paints a very different picture of the captain s response to the crisis. a transmission from the bridge to port. officials insist a blackout is the ship s only problem. the associated press said the captain is the one speaking, and he was telling them about a blackout a full 30 minutes after the ship rammed the reef and was in extreme distress. good evening, costa concordia. do you have problems on board? yes, affirmative. we have a blackout on board. we a
it gets a tad bit stranger. tonight she s defending the captain against the accusationings he abandoned ship. i ve heard in russian media that the captain left the ship first or among the first but this is not true. i m a witness. i don t know if i m invited to testify in the court or not but as a witness i can say i left the deck at 23:50 following an order from the captain who told me to go to the third deck, to get into a lifeboat that could take more people. but there is more. a new and disturbing recording released today paints a very different picture of the captain s response to the crisis. a transmission from the bridge to port. officials insist a blackout is the ship s only problem. the associated press said the captain is the one speaking, and he was telling them about a blackout a full 30 minutes after the ship rammed the reef and was in extreme distress. good evening, costa concordia. do you have problems on board? yes, affirmative. we have a blackout on board. we a