Costa Concordia's captain tells survivors he's 'sorry'

The captain blamed for the sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise liner off the Italian coast in January that killed 32 people shook hands with survivors and apologized on Monday at a court hearing to decide if he should face a full trial.

Francesco Schettino appeared relaxed and spoke often to his legal team, the lawyer representing 80 US survivors and family members, said.

A lawyer for the families of those killed said no one should have died.

The 114,500 tonne luxury cruise ship capsized on January 13 after approaching the Tuscan island of Giglio to perform a maneuver close to the shore known as a salute. It struck a rock which tore a gash in its hull.

Schettino has admitted he made mistakes but has accused the company of mishandling the response. He said last week he was suing Costa Cruises, a unit of Carnival Corp., for unfair dismissal following the accident.

Held up to ridicule in Italy and abroad since the disaster, he faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship during a chaotic night-time evacuation of 4,200 passengers and crew. Two bodies have still not been recovered. The ship is still sitting half-submerged on a rocky shelf off the island.

It was the first such hearing Schettino had attended.

Luciano Castro, an Italian survivor at the hearing in a theatre in the central town of Grosseto, said Schettino appeared "embarrassed" when they spoke briefly.

"The only thing he said was when I told him that I hope that the truth will soon be established, he said, 'yes, it needs to be established soon'," Castro told reporters.

Two German survivors who attended the hearing said Schettino had shaken their hands and said he was sorry.