Italian public prosecutor’s office says it is ‘plausible’ that crimes of multiple manslaughter had been committed
25 August 2024 - 15:11
byGiulio Piovaccari and Gavin Jones
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Rescue personnel transport what is believed to be the body of Hannah Lynch, daughter of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, at the scene where a luxury yacht sank, off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy. File photo: LOUIZA VRADI/REUTERS
Termini Imerese — An Italian prosecutor has opened a manslaughter investigation into the deaths of British tech magnate Mike Lynch and six other people who were killed when a luxury yacht sank in stormy weather off Sicily this week.
The head of the public prosecutor’s office of Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Cartosio, said that while the yacht had been hit by a sudden meteorological event, it was “plausible” that crimes of multiple manslaughter and causing a shipwreck through negligence had been committed.
So far the investigation was not aimed at any individual person, he told a news conference.
Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, was also among those who died when the family’s 56m boat, the Bayesian, capsized during a fierce, predawn storm on Monday off Porticello, near Palermo.
Fifteen people survived, including Lynch’s wife, whose company owned the Bayesian, and the yacht’s captain.
The disaster would be even more painful if the investigation showed it was caused “by behaviours that were not aligned to the responsibilities that everyone needs to take in shipping,” Cartosio said.
The captain, James Cutfield, and the other survivors have been questioned by authorities. None of them have commented publicly on how the ship went down.
Raffaele Cammarano, another prosecutor speaking at the same news conference, said that when authorities questioned Cutfield he had been “extremely co-operative”.
The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts who say a boat such as the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have withstood the storm and in any case should not have sunk as quickly as it did.
Pulling the Bayesian out of the sea will help investigators determine what happened, but the operation is likely to be complex and costly. The wreck is lying apparently intact on its side at a depth of 50m.
“It’s in the interests of the owners and managers of the ship to salvage it,” Cartosio said, adding “they have assured their full co-operation”.
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini, said the shipwreck was the result of a string of “indescribable, unreasonable errors” made by the crew, and ruled out any design or construction failings.
Cammarano said the meteorological event that hit the vessel was most likely a “downburst”, a strong downward wind that is an intense but relatively frequent event at sea, rather than a water spout which involves rotating winds such as a whirlwind or tornado.
He said that the passengers were all probably asleep at the time of the storm which was why they failed to escape.
Palermo Coast Guard chief Raffaele Macauda, who attended the press conference, said there was no specific ban for the ship to be anchored where it was struck by the storm, as weather bulletins at the time were not reporting a major storm alert for the wide area of the southwestern Tyrrhenian Sea.
SEARCH FOR BODIES
Cartosio did not rule out that someone could be put under investigation before the ship is salvaged, on the basis of other evidence.
He said there was no legal obligation for the captain, crew and passengers to remain in Italy but authorities expected them to co-operate with the probe.
The prosecutor said it had not been possible to carry out alcohol or drug tests on the survivors as they were in a state of shock and needed treatments for injuries.
In the yacht, the bodies of the dead were found in the cabins on the left-hand side of the boat, where the passengers may have tried to search for remaining bubbles of air, the head of Palermo’s Fire Brigade, Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra, said during Saturday’s news conference.
Divers scoured the submerged vessel all week to recover bodies, with Hannah Lynch's the last to be recovered on Friday. The five other dead passengers were recovered on Wednesday and Thursday, while the body of the only crew member who died, on-board chef Recaldo Thomas, was found on Monday.
Mike Lynch, 59, was one of the UK’s best-known tech entrepreneurs and had invited friends to join him on the yacht to celebrate his acquittal in June in a US fraud trial.
Among those who also died in the wreck were Lynch’s lawyer Chris Morvillo and Jonathan Bloomer, a Morgan Stanley banker who had appeared as a character witness in the case on his behalf.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Manslaughter probe opened in Lynch yacht sinking
Italian public prosecutor’s office says it is ‘plausible’ that crimes of multiple manslaughter had been committed
Termini Imerese — An Italian prosecutor has opened a manslaughter investigation into the deaths of British tech magnate Mike Lynch and six other people who were killed when a luxury yacht sank in stormy weather off Sicily this week.
The head of the public prosecutor’s office of Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Cartosio, said that while the yacht had been hit by a sudden meteorological event, it was “plausible” that crimes of multiple manslaughter and causing a shipwreck through negligence had been committed.
So far the investigation was not aimed at any individual person, he told a news conference.
Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, was also among those who died when the family’s 56m boat, the Bayesian, capsized during a fierce, predawn storm on Monday off Porticello, near Palermo.
Fifteen people survived, including Lynch’s wife, whose company owned the Bayesian, and the yacht’s captain.
The disaster would be even more painful if the investigation showed it was caused “by behaviours that were not aligned to the responsibilities that everyone needs to take in shipping,” Cartosio said.
The captain, James Cutfield, and the other survivors have been questioned by authorities. None of them have commented publicly on how the ship went down.
Raffaele Cammarano, another prosecutor speaking at the same news conference, said that when authorities questioned Cutfield he had been “extremely co-operative”.
The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts who say a boat such as the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have withstood the storm and in any case should not have sunk as quickly as it did.
Pulling the Bayesian out of the sea will help investigators determine what happened, but the operation is likely to be complex and costly. The wreck is lying apparently intact on its side at a depth of 50m.
“It’s in the interests of the owners and managers of the ship to salvage it,” Cartosio said, adding “they have assured their full co-operation”.
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini, said the shipwreck was the result of a string of “indescribable, unreasonable errors” made by the crew, and ruled out any design or construction failings.
Cammarano said the meteorological event that hit the vessel was most likely a “downburst”, a strong downward wind that is an intense but relatively frequent event at sea, rather than a water spout which involves rotating winds such as a whirlwind or tornado.
He said that the passengers were all probably asleep at the time of the storm which was why they failed to escape.
Palermo Coast Guard chief Raffaele Macauda, who attended the press conference, said there was no specific ban for the ship to be anchored where it was struck by the storm, as weather bulletins at the time were not reporting a major storm alert for the wide area of the southwestern Tyrrhenian Sea.
SEARCH FOR BODIES
Cartosio did not rule out that someone could be put under investigation before the ship is salvaged, on the basis of other evidence.
He said there was no legal obligation for the captain, crew and passengers to remain in Italy but authorities expected them to co-operate with the probe.
The prosecutor said it had not been possible to carry out alcohol or drug tests on the survivors as they were in a state of shock and needed treatments for injuries.
In the yacht, the bodies of the dead were found in the cabins on the left-hand side of the boat, where the passengers may have tried to search for remaining bubbles of air, the head of Palermo’s Fire Brigade, Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra, said during Saturday’s news conference.
Divers scoured the submerged vessel all week to recover bodies, with Hannah Lynch's the last to be recovered on Friday. The five other dead passengers were recovered on Wednesday and Thursday, while the body of the only crew member who died, on-board chef Recaldo Thomas, was found on Monday.
Mike Lynch, 59, was one of the UK’s best-known tech entrepreneurs and had invited friends to join him on the yacht to celebrate his acquittal in June in a US fraud trial.
Among those who also died in the wreck were Lynch’s lawyer Chris Morvillo and Jonathan Bloomer, a Morgan Stanley banker who had appeared as a character witness in the case on his behalf.
Reuters
Body believed to be Mike Lynch’s daughter found after yacht disaster
Body of UK tech giant Mike Lynch retrieved from yacht, says source
Body of British tech entrepreneur Lynch retrieved from yacht, source says
Four bodies retrieved from Lynch’s sunken yacht in Sicily
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Body believed to be Mike Lynch’s daughter found after yacht disaster
Body of UK tech giant Mike Lynch retrieved from yacht, says source
Body of British tech entrepreneur Lynch retrieved from yacht, source says
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.