ROME, February 26 (RAPSI) – The prosecutor’s office in Grosseto, Italy where a court is hearing the case of the Costa Concordia cruise liner that ran aground two years ago, has allowed former Captain Francesco Schettino to take part in a survey of the shipwreck, the Italian media wrote on Tuesday.

Schettino will join the experts who will board the cruise liner on February 27 to inspect an emergency power unit, which allegedly did not work on the night of the wreck. It will be the final inspection, after which the experts are to submit their conclusions to the court.

Grosseto prosecutors have said they will also question two employees of the Concordia’s operator, Costa Crociere.

The Concordia hit a rock off the island of Giglio in the Tyrrhenian Sea, took on water and capsized on January 14, 2012. Thirty-two of its 4,200 passengers and crew died.
Schettino allegedly steered the ship too close to the island and then hesitated to sound the alarm when it hit a rock. He then abandoned the Concordia with hundreds of passengers still on board.

He faces up to 20 years in prison on charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship. The captain is the sole defendant and is denying the charges.