What. An. Idiot:

In a pre-planned stunt advertised on Facebook, captain of The Concordia, Francesco Schettino, sailed perilously close to the coast of Giglio so that the ship’s head waiter could salute his family on land.

Minutes before the cruise ship hit the rocks, the waiter’s sister Patrizia Tievoli had posted on Facebook that: ‘In a short period of time the Concordia ship will pass very close. A big greeting to my brother who finally get to have a holiday on landing in Savona.’

According to Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper, as the cruise liner approached the island’s coastline Captain Francesco Schettino, 52, said to the head waiter Antonello Tievolli: “Come and see, Antonello, we’re right in front of Giglio”.

He misjudged the stunt, however, with the result that the ship hit the rocks, tearing a huge gash in its hull and forcing the night-time evacuation of its more than 4,000 passengers and crew.

The rest here.