After the sinking of a luxury yacht, the Italian public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into negligent homicide. The aim is to clarify how the accident occurred. All of the victims have now been recovered.
Following the death of British software entrepreneur Mike Lynch and six other people when a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily, the Italian public prosecutor’s office is investigating manslaughter. The aim is to clarify whether the sailing ship may have sunk because the danger of an approaching storm was underestimated. At a press conference, the authority stated that the investigation is currently not directed against a single person.
Seven people died in the accident on Monday near the shore of the Italian Mediterranean island. 15 people were rescued, including almost the entire crew and Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, to whom the ship is registered.
On Friday, rescue divers also recovered the body of 18-year-old Hannah, Lynch’s daughter, from the wreckage, which lay 50 meters deep. She was the last of seven missing people.
Cause of accident still unclear
Experts are puzzled as to why a boat such as the 56-meter-long “Bayesian” could not withstand the storm and sank within a few minutes. The head of the parent company Italia Sea Group of the boat builder Perini, Giovanni Costantino, spoke in an interview with the Reuters news agency of a “series of indescribable, unreasonable errors” by the crew that led to the sinking. The question is, among other things, whether hatches and doors were open that should have been closed in view of the storm.
The Coast Guard has questioned Captain James Cutfield and the eight surviving crew members on behalf of the investigating authorities. According to prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano, they were “extremely cooperative” when questioned by the authorities.
Yacht to be salvaged
Pulling the “Bayesian” out of the sea could now help investigators to clarify the circumstances of the accident. “It is in the interest of the ship’s owners and managers to salvage it,” said agency head Ambrogio Cartosio, adding: “They have assured us of their full cooperation.” There is no legal obligation for the captain, crew and surviving passengers to remain in Italy. However, the authorities expect them to cooperate with the investigation.
Lynch wanted to celebrate a legal victory with the sailing trip in the Mediterranean. The founder of the British software company Autonomy was sued in California by its current owner Hewlett-Packard, but was unanimously acquitted by a jury in June. Also on the boat were a banker from Morgan Stanley who had testified in his favor, a lawyer who had represented Lynch in the trial, and their wives. They all died in the accident. A total of 22 people were on board the “Bayesian”.