Why did the captain of the Costa Concordia leave the ship?

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After the Costa Concordia struck rocks off the coast Giglio Island, Captain Francesco Schettino abandoned ship, even though some 300 people were still on board. He subsequently claimed that he fell off the Concordia and landed in a lifeboat. A coast guard captain ordered Schettino to return to the vessel and oversee the evacuation, but he refused. In 2013 Schettino went on trial for manslaughter as well as causing the wreck and abandoning ship. The following year he was found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in prison.