Captain's bizarre excuse when asked why he abandoned sinking ship after cruise disaster that saw 33 killed

The captain of what was the longest cruise ship in Italy gave a bizarre excuse when he was asked about his whereabouts when 33 passengers were left to die.

At 290 metres long with a capacity for 3,780 passengers, the Costa Concordia ship was launched back in 2005.

It took a crew of 1,100 to run the vessel, which was designed to sail its passengers around the Mediterranean.

However, seven years after launch, disaster struck, as 33 people lost their lives.

Captain Francesco Schettino. (Laura Lezza/Getty Images)

How the Costa Concordia disaster took place

The ship set sail on a seven-day cruise on 3 January, 2012, from Civitavecchia, near Lazio, on the Italian coastline.

But just hours after embarking, the cruise liner deviated from its course and approached 'sail by' Giglio Island.

That's when Captain Francesco Schettino decided to try a maritime salute, a horn to locals, amid spotting a rock formation in the ship's path.

Schettino attempted to move the ship off its course, but reportedly was met with a language barrier with the rest of his cabin crew.

This resulted in the ship moving in another direction.

Despite a 13-second manoeuvre to swing the boat clear, the stern caught the reef, causing a huge 53-metre tear in the left side of the vessel.

33 people died as a result of the accident. (VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)

The Costa Concordia began flooding all the way into the engine room, which left the ship without power.

As the cruise liner started to sink before the first rescue vessel arrived, Schettino made the decision to abandon ship 15 minutes later.

The final members of the ship's crew were still left on the bridge, even though there were still 300 travelling passengers on board.

25 patrol boats, 14 merchant vessels and several helicopters arrived and rescued as many people as possible.

But 33 lost their lives.

The captain's excuse

Schettino claims he accidentally fell into a lifeboat, but subsequently went to prison for his role in the disaster.

"I didn't even have a life jacket because I had given it to one of the passengers. I was trying to get people to get into the boats in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, since the ship was at a 60-70° angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats. That's how I found myself in the lifeboat," the captain told the court.

In 2016, the captain was eventually convicted on all charges and sentenced to more than 16 years in prison.