An Italian court has opened a series of hearings to decide who should stand trial over the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster.
Captain Francesco Schettino – whom prosecutors accuse of manslaughter and abandoning his ship during the rescue – was at Monday’s hearing.
Another four crew members and the head of the company crisis unit may also face charges.
The luxury liner hit rocks and capsized on 13 January 2012, killing 32.
A host of different parties are seeking compensation over the tragedy, including hundreds of survivors and the ship operator, Costa Crociere.
They also include local authorities at the site of the shipwreck close to the island of Giglio, who are seeking at least 80m euros (£68m; $105m) to make up for alleged lost revenue and the eyesore that has been on its shoreline for more than a year.
A major operation is planned to refloat the vessel and take it away to be broken up – an operation that has never before been attempted on this scale.
‘Show off’
The judge at the court in Grosseto, Tuscany – close to the site of the accident – is expected to decide exactly who might stand trial, and what charges they will have to answer, in this series of pre-trial hearings.
Reports described a sombre-looking Capt Schettino attending the hearing. He has been living on probation in his hometown of Meta, southern Italy, and had to be granted special permission from the judge to attend.
On that winter’s night more than a year ago, Captain Schettino was trying to show off his vessel and his seamanship by sailing desperately close to the shore, reports the BBC’s Rome correspondent Alan Johnston.
More than 4,000 passengers were on board.
But the captain struck rocks, and a major disaster began to unfold. Passengers described a chaotic and delayed rescue. By the time the evacuation was ordered, the ship was listing so far to one side that many lifeboats could not be used.
As well as manslaughter and abandoning the ship, Capt Schettino is accused of causing a shipwreck and misinforming the coast guard.
He denies the charges, along with his fellow accused.
Plea bargain
Some passengers have already accepted compensation of about 11,000 euros each, but remaining groups of survivors are demanding up to 1m euros each – something Costa lawyer Marco de Luca has reportedly dismissed as ridiculous.
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