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Italian prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation into the death of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and six other people after a luxury yacht sank in an unexpected powerful storm off Sicily earlier this week, Reuters reported.
Ambrogio Catuccio, head of the prosecutor’s office in the city of Termini Imerse, said that although the yacht was at the centre of a sudden weather phenomenon, it was “very likely” that crimes such as “manslaughter” and “causing a maritime disaster due to negligence” were also involved.
He noted that so far, the investigation has not targeted any specific individuals.
Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah was also among the victims of the sinking of the 56-metre Bayes yacht, which was caught in a storm near Porticello, near Palermo, at dawn on Monday.
Among those killed in the shipwreck were Lynch’s lawyer, Chris Moviello, and his wife, as well as Morgan Stanley banker Jonathan Bloomer, who along with his wife testified on Lynch’s behalf in a lawsuit against him in New York. The yacht’s cook also died.
Fifteen people, including the captain and Mike Lynch’s wife, survived.
Catosio said the incident could be more painful if an investigation showed it was the result of “behavior inconsistent with the responsibilities that everyone must bear in shipping.”
Capt. James Carterfield and other survivors were questioned by authorities this week. None of them have commented publicly on how the yacht, owned by Lynch & Co., sank.
Raffaele Camarano, another prosecutor involved in the investigation, said Cutfield was “very cooperative” when authorities questioned him.
The yacht’s sinking has baffled maritime experts, who say a vessel like the Baysian, built by high-end Italian yacht maker Perini, should have been able to weather the storm and in any case should not have sunk so quickly.
Retrieving the Bayes from the sea would help investigators determine what happened, but the operation could be complex and expensive. The yacht was apparently intact at a depth of 50 meters below sea level.
Giovanni Constantine, chief executive of the Italian maritime group that owns the Perini, told Reuters this week that the sinking was caused by a series of “unexplained, irrational mistakes” made by the crew and ruled out any design flaws or structural defects in the ship.
Cammarano said the weather event that affected the ship was most likely a very strong tailwind, which is strong but relatively common at sea, rather than a tornado.
He pointed out that all the passengers might have fallen asleep during the storm, which is why they were unable to save themselves.
Raffaele Macorda, head of Palermo’s coast guard, said there was no specific prohibition on the ship dropping anchor in the area hit by the storm because the threat of a major storm was not reported in the weather bulletin at the time, which applies to a wide area of the southwestern Tyrrhenian Sea.
Catosio did not rule out the possibility of opening an investigation into specific individuals, even before the ship is refloated. He said the captain, crew and passengers have no legal obligation to remain in Italy until the investigation is complete, but authorities expect them to cooperate with investigators.
Prosecutors said it was impossible to test the survivors for alcohol or drugs because they were in shock and needed treatment for their injuries.
Palermo Fire Chief Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandella told a press conference today that the bodies of the deceased were found in the port cabin of the sunken yacht, where passengers may have tried to breathe.
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