Ambrogio Cartosio, public prosecutor of nearby town Termini Imerese, said they are conducting an investigation against unknown persons
A manslaughter investigation has been launched into the deaths of seven people in the sinking of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily, an Italian prosecutor said.
Press conference
British tech mogul Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the seven people who died after the Bayesian superyacht sank near Porticello at about 5 am local time on Monday.
Ambrogio Cartosio, public prosecutor of nearby town Termini Imer5 amese, said in a press conference at the town’s court on Saturday that his office has opened an initial investigation into manslaughter.
Termini Imerese prosecution
“The Termini Imerese prosecution has opened a case hypothesising the crime of shipwreck and of manslaughter but we are only at the initial stage of the inquiry so far,” he said.
The main question investigators are focusing on is how a sailing vessel deemed “unsinkable” by its manufacturer, Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.
Naval marine experts
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.
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. So far, nobody has been placed under formal investigation.
Pe-dawn storm
Italian divers retrieved the body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, who was the last person still unaccounted for after the family’s luxury yacht sank this week off Sicily.
Seven people, including Lynch himself, died when the 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.
CNN’s team
CNN’s team on the ground saw divers carrying the last body bag from the rescue boat into the port of Porticello, ending a five-day search by Italian authorities for victims of the shipwreck
With the wreckage lying about 50 meters (160 feet) underwater, divers had about 12 minutes to reach the site and explore its cabins before having to resurface, complicating their efforts to bring the seven bodies to shore.
123 dives
The fire brigade said their team of more than 40 specialists had carried out 123 dives to the wreck of the Bayesian, which is lying apparently intact on its side at a depth of 50 metres.
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.
Costa Concordia cruise
Nick Sloane, a South African engineer who led the operation to salvage the Costa Concordia cruise liner that sank in 2012, said in Italian media interviews on Friday that the operation would cost up to €15 million ($16.7 million).
Five other dead passengers
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.It is noteworthy that Hannah Lynch’s body was discovered on Friday by divers who have been scouring 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.
