House arrest eased for captain of Costa Concordia

The captain of the wrecked cruise liner Costa Concordia has been released from house arrest on condition he does not leave his home town.

Francesco Schettino is accused of causing the accident on 13 January in which 32 people died.

Magistrates in the Tuscan town of Grosseto said Schettino would no longer have to remain confined to his home in Meta di Sorrento near Naples. He would also no longer be bound by the strict conditions of house arrest which prevented him communicating with anyone apart from his lawyer and family. Schettino faces charges of multiple manslaughter, causing the accident and abandoning ship prematurely. A pre-trial hearing was held in Grosseto, near Florence, in March. The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,000 people, ran aground off Giglio.