Italian prosecutor opens manslaughter inquiry in Lynch yacht sinking
24/08/2024 09:48
TERMINI IMERESE, Italy, Aug 24 (Reuters) - 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 off Sicily this week.
The public prosecutor's office of Termini Imerese, headed by
Ambrogio Cartosio, announced the investigation, saying the probe
was not aimed at any individual person.
Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, was also among those
who died when the family's 56-metre-long (184-foot) boat, the
Bayesian, capsized during a fierce, pre-dawn 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 captain James Cutfield and the other survivors have been
questioned by the coast guard on behalf of prosecutors. None of
them have commented publicly on how the ship went down.
Hannah Lynch's body was discovered on Friday by divers who
scoured the submerged vessel for the past five days. The five
other dead passengers were recovered on Wednesday and Thursday,
while the body of the only crew member who died, onboard chef
Recaldo Thomas, was found on Monday.
The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts who say a boat
like 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.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari
Writing by Frances Kerry, Kirsten Donovan)
((frances.kerry@thomsonreuters.com;))