<p> The captain of the stricken Costa Concordia liner told a friend a day after the disaster that a manager from the cruise company pressured him to sail too close to shore, the Italian media has reported.<br /><br />Francesco Schettino told a friend he was following the advice of a manager about what route to take, saying "pass through there, pass through there," media reported yesterday, quoting a recording of the call police secretly made the day after the January 13 shipwreck that killed at least 16 people.<br /><br />"In my place, another would not have been so ready to pass there, but they got to me with their 'Pass through there, pass through there'," Schettino said.<br /><br />"The rocks were there, but the instruments I had weren't showing them, so I went through," he said.<br /><br />Schettino then reportedly said he thought he was about 450 metres (0.28 nautical miles) away, but the ship hit a rock.<br /><br />"So, here we are and it's me who's paying for everything," he said.<br />The luxury line capsized off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio with more than 4,000 people on board. Sixteen people are still unaccounted for.<br /><br />Schettino and first officer Ciro Ambrosio so far are the only two from the ship to face charges, including negligent homicide.<br /><br />Schettino has been under house arrest since January 17.</p>
<p> The captain of the stricken Costa Concordia liner told a friend a day after the disaster that a manager from the cruise company pressured him to sail too close to shore, the Italian media has reported.<br /><br />Francesco Schettino told a friend he was following the advice of a manager about what route to take, saying "pass through there, pass through there," media reported yesterday, quoting a recording of the call police secretly made the day after the January 13 shipwreck that killed at least 16 people.<br /><br />"In my place, another would not have been so ready to pass there, but they got to me with their 'Pass through there, pass through there'," Schettino said.<br /><br />"The rocks were there, but the instruments I had weren't showing them, so I went through," he said.<br /><br />Schettino then reportedly said he thought he was about 450 metres (0.28 nautical miles) away, but the ship hit a rock.<br /><br />"So, here we are and it's me who's paying for everything," he said.<br />The luxury line capsized off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio with more than 4,000 people on board. Sixteen people are still unaccounted for.<br /><br />Schettino and first officer Ciro Ambrosio so far are the only two from the ship to face charges, including negligent homicide.<br /><br />Schettino has been under house arrest since January 17.</p>