The father of Kiwi lawyer Ayla Ronald says she's "very shaken" after being rescued from the ill-fated Bayesian off the coast of Sicily. Video / Vigil del Fuoco / Getty Images
Italian prosecutors have begun an official investigation of James Cutfield, captain of the superyacht belonging to British tech magnate Mike Lynch that sank off Sicily last week, killing its owner and six others, Italian media said on Monday.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the decision. Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will necessarily follow.
A 51-year old New Zealand national, Cutfield is being investigated for manslaughter and shipwreck, the dailies La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera said.
New Zealand citizen James Cutfield, 51, was the captain of the Bayesian.
While the yacht had been hit by a very sudden meteorological event, it was plausible that crimes of multiple manslaughter and causing a shipwreck through negligence had been committed, the head of the public prosecutor’s office of Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Cartosio, said on Saturday.
Cutfield’s brother Mark told the Herald that his sibling was a “very good sailor” and was “very well respected” in the Mediterranean.
He confirmed his brother initially went to the hospital but did not suffer from injuries “too dramatic”.
“He’s safe, he’s okay.”
Cartosio said on Saturday the development of that inquiry could be of “any sort imaginable”.
“It was absolutely indispensable to make that press conference given the interest of the world press in those who died,” he said.
Cartosio said the yacht had already sunk by the time rescue forces arrived.
He described the incident as “grave tragedy” and to “reduce the dimensions of the tragedy” they called a “big operation of firefighters and firefighting divers who have shown incredible courage and skill” who carried out a very difficult mission indeed and have allowed us to inspect properly the wreck for bodies.
The local fire chief said 123 dives were taken by the coastguard during the operation and could only stay for 12 minutes maximum under the water.
“It was an intense bout of work as you can imagine and very stressful, nevertheless in four days, the results we achieved do not require any further explanation,” he said.
The Bayesian superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily.
“We managed to bring up all six bodies, we were operating at 50 metres depth and there was very little visibility due to the weather conditions but we achieved our aims.
“My colleagues have shown incredible professionalism.”
The fire chief told the press conference five bodies were found in one cabin.
“The yacht tended to the right and obviously the bodies tried to go to the other side and take refuge in their cabins.
“We found five bodies in a cabin on the left and another one in the third cabin on the left. They were in the higher part of the shipwreck.”
On Saturday, the body of Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of tech billionaire Mike Lynch was recovered from the wreckage.
The Bayesian was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008 and was last refitted in 2020, and was managed by yachting company Camper & Nicholsons.
Hannah Lynch, 18, died in the Bayesian sinking off the coast of Sicily. Photo / Supplied
It won a string of awards for its design and can accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites and a crew of 10, according to online specialist yacht sites.
Formerly known as Salute, or health in Italian, its 75m mast is the tallest aluminium mast in the world, Perini said on its website.
