The court heard how some passengers were sucked into a vortex of water rushing into the ship when the Concordia capsized. This happened after the crew told them to go to the other side of the ship where lifeboats were being launched, and the passengers ended up trying to walk down a tilting corridor.

The loss of 32 lives during the Costa Concordia disaster on January 13, 2012, was primarily attributed to a series of human errors and chaotic evacuation delays rather than the initial impact with the reef itself. While the ship struck a rock off Isola del Giglio, causing a massive 35-meter gash, investigators found that most victims drowned because the "abandon ship" order was delayed for over an hour. This delay caused the vessel to list (tilt) so severely that many lifeboats could no longer be launched, forcing passengers to jump into the frigid water or navigate flooded elevator shafts and corridors. Captain Francesco Schettino was notoriously found to have abandoned the ship while hundreds were still on board, a major factor in the disorganized rescue effort. The chaos after the impact, combined with a lack of clear communication from the bridge, meant that what should have been a standard evacuation turned into a tragic loss of 27 passengers and 5 crew members.