by Luisa Potenza
Grosseto---Despite reports to the contrary, Ciro Iosso and other crew members of the ill-fated cruise ship Costa Concordia, calmed panicking passengers and guided hundreds onto lifeboats without the orders of their captain who had abandoned ship.
Third officer Andrea Carollo rushed to help passengers after realizing the engine room had flooded. "I could have saved myself and not done my duty, but I didn't", he said. "I waited and helped get at least 300 people on lifeboats," said Iosso, an electrician on the doomed cruise liner. "I'm very proud, and above all, I have a clear conscience," he added.
The crew's story has been overlooked because of passenger complaints of chaos and poor communication during the evacuation, and by the mistakes and alleged cowardice of Captain Franceso Schettino, accused of causing the accident and then abandoning ship.
