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The captain of the Bayesian has insisted that he did everything possible to save those on board the superyacht, according to local reports.
Sources close to James Cutfield, 51, told the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera that the 51-year-old New Zealander is currently living through the darkest days of his life as he is under investigation for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges.
They reportedly said Mr Cutfield repeatedly insists that he did not abandon any of the 22 passengers and crew and that he did everything could could to save them.
However, there reached a point when he could do little as the vessel had taken on too much water, they added.
Since Wednesday, Tim Parker Eaton, the engineer who was in charge of securing the yacht’s engine room, and sailor Matthew Griffith, who was on watch duty on the night of the disaster, are also under investigation for the same possible charges, their lawyer said on Friday.
British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the seven people who were killed after his superyacht capsized and went down on 19 August within minutes of being hit by a pre-dawn storm off the coast of Sicily.
Three crew members under investigation left Italy on Wednesday
The three crew members who are under investigation over the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht left Italy on Wednesday, according to a lawyer.
The ship’s captain, New Zealander James Cutfield, Tim Parker Eaton, the engineer who was in charge of securing the yacht’s engine room, and sailor Matthew Griffith, who was on watch duty on the night of the disaster, have all been placed under investigation for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges.
Lawyer Mario Scopesi said that both Parker Eaton and Griffith left Italy on Wednesday, along with Cutfield and the rest of the crew.
Tara Cobham31 August 2024 14:00
Ex-court appointed guard says Mike Lynch ‘became more like a family’
A court-appointed armed guard, tasked with ensuring Mike Lynch did not abscond while facing fraud charges, has paid tribute to the tech mogul, saying the security team “became less of a detail and more like a family”.
Rolo Igno also described “the memory of a beautiful soul” in Mr Lynch’s daughter Hannah, 18, after they died in the sinking of the luxury superyacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily early on 19 August.
Mr Lynch founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, and was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its 11 billion dollar (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard, after a trial at a federal court in San Francisco, California.
Ellie Ng reports:
Tara Cobham31 August 2024 13:00
Who was on the Bayesian?
British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the people initially unaccounted for after his superyacht Bayesian sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of 19 August.
After a decade-long legal battle which had seen him extradited to the US to face an $11bn fraud case, Mr Lynch had celebrated by inviting his close friends, colleagues and those who helped him on his legal team aboard his boat as a gesture of gratitude.
Here’s what we know about the 22 people on board:
Tara Cobham31 August 2024 12:00
Watch: Mike Lynch’s friend mourns ‘unbelievably tragic’ death after fraud trial acquittal
Tara Cobham31 August 2024 11:05
Italian prosecutors widen probe into sinking of superyacht
Italian prosecutors have put under investigation two more crew members of the Bayesian, the superyacht that sank off Sicily last week, killing seven people, their lawyer said on Friday.
The move widens the probe into the shipwreck, for which the ship's captain, New Zealander James Cutfield, is already under investigation for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges.
Since Wednesday, Tim Parker Eaton, the engineer who was in charge of securing the yacht's engine room, and sailor Matthew Griffith, who was on watch duty on the night of the disaster, are under investigation for the same possible charges, their lawyer said.
"The profile of their possible responsibilities is still unclear, as the investigation has just started," lawyer Mario Scopesi told The Associated Press.
He added that both Parker Eaton and Griffith left Italy on Wednesday, along with Cutfield and the rest of the crew.
The three crew members were among 15 survivors of the August 19 sinking that killed British tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah and five others.
Chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, who is heading the investigation, has said his team will consider each possible element of responsibility including those of the captain, the crew, individuals in charge of supervision and the yacht's manufacturer.
The Bayesian, a 56-metre British-flagged luxury yacht, went down near Sicily, in the Mediterranean.
Investigators are focusing on how a sailing vessel deemed "unsinkable" by its manufacturer, Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.
Prosecutors said the event was "extremely rapid" and could have been a "downburst" - a localized, powerful wind that descends from a thunderstorm and spreads out rapidly on hitting the ground.
Tara Cobham31 August 2024 11:04
Captain of Bayesian ’insists he did everything he could’ to save those on board
The captain of the Bayesian has insisted that he did everything possible to save those on board the superyacht, according to local reports.
Sources close to James Cutfield, 51, told the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera that the 51-year-old New Zealander is currently living through the darkest days of his life as he is under investigation for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges.
They reportedly said Mr Cutfield repeatedly insists that he did not abandon any of the 22 passengers and crew and that he did everything could could to save them.
However, there reached a point when he could do little as the vessel had taken on too much water, they added.
Tara Cobham31 August 2024 08:28
Asylum rescue charities hit out at ‘double standard’ in media and official resources
Charities dedicated to rescuing asylum-seekers in the Mediterranean have hit out at the “double standard” highlighted by the media coverage and resources given to the Bayesian search effort.
“For us, every death in the Mediterranean is one too many, no matter where they come from or how much money they make,” the organisation Sea-Eye, who recently rescued 262 people in the Mediterranean, said in a statement to The Guardian.
They added: “Sadly, it makes a difference in the media, in our society and in politics, who is drowning. We have noticed that the coverage of the situation in the Mediterranean, of tragedies or of our rescues in recent months has not been nearly as extensive as in the case of the Sicilian shipwreck in recent days.”
Days after the Bayesian sank, distress calls relating to a dinghy carrying 43 people in the Mediterranean were ignored and the vessel was left in peril for more than 24 hours until the charity Sea-Watch got there “just in time” to rescue those onboard and in the surrounding waters, the organisation alleged.
“For the Italian and European authorities, there are Shipwrecks and then there are shipwrecks, one capitalised and the other lowercase, one immediately rescued and the other abandoned to its fate,” Sea-Watch said, adding: “There was no rescue effort by the authorities. That’s no coincidence; it’s the EU’s double standard.”
Jabed Ahmed31 August 2024 08:00
Sinking of ‘unsinkable’ Bayesian puzzles experts
The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts, who said a vessel like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini and deemed “unsinkable”, should have withstood the storm – and, in any case, should not have sunk as quickly as it did. Meanwhile, a nearby sailing boat remained largely unscathed.
Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, near Palermo, said the event was “extremely rapid” and could have been a “downburst” – a localised, powerful wind, which descends from a thunderstorm and spreads out rapidly upon hitting the ground.
They added that their investigation would take time and would require the wreck of the Bayesian – which is lying on its right side, at a depth of around 50 metres (164 feet) – to be salvaged from the sea.
Chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, who is heading the investigation, has said his team would consider each possible element of responsibility including those of the captain, the crew, individuals in charge of supervision and the yacht’s manufacturer.
Jabed Ahmed31 August 2024 07:00
Mike Lynch’s wife did not want to leave scene of Bayesian wreck without her family, says captain of boat near sinking
Mike Lynch’s wife did not want to leave the scene of the Bayesian wreck without her family, the captain of a boat near the sinking has said.
Karsten Borner, the captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell, which helped to rescue the 15 survivors of the disaster in Sicily, told People that Angela Bacares “didn’t want to leave because her husband and her daughter were still down”.
British technology tycoon Mr Lynch and one of the daughters he has with Ms Bacares, 18-year-old Hannah, were among the seven people who were killed after his superyacht capsized and went down on 19 August within minutes of being hit by a pre-dawn storm.
Jabed Ahmed31 August 2024 05:00
