Italian prosecutors have opened a manslaughter and negligent shipwreck investigation in connection with the sinking of British entrepreneur Mike Lynch's luxury yacht Bayesian during a storm off the coast of Sicily last week. The British-flagged, 56-metre-long sailboat was carrying 22 people and was anchored just offshore near the port of Porticello on August 19 when it capsized amid a spell of bad weather. Seven people, including Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, were killed in the accident.
According to a report by AP, authorities have said the investigation is in its initial stages and that they are not looking at anyone specifically. While the weather is believed to be a major factor in the accident, questions have been raised about how the yacht, described as cutting-edge, sank while smaller boats nearby managed to weather the storm.
The people on the yacht were on a celebratory trip to mark Mike Lynch’s acquittal in a US fraud case. Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out fraud relating to its $11 billion sale to US company Hewlett Packard.
Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo and Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the yacht, died in the tragedy as well. The 15 survivors include Lynch's wife and the yacht's captain.
Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra from Palermo’s fire brigade said the boat sank stern-first and then rolled onto its right side. He said the victims sought refuge in cabins on the left side of the vessel where “the last air bubbles formed”, BBC reported.
About 70 people were involved in an "intense" search operation each day, amounting to a total of 123 dives taken, Fiandra said, as quoted by BBC. He added that they were working 50 metres deep, where the yacht now lies, with low visibility that was further complicated by bad weather.
'Offences Likely'
According to a report by BBC, initially, it was believed the boat might have sunk due to a waterspout — a rotating column of air that occurs over a waterbody — but authorities now suspect a downburst, "a localised, powerful wind that descends from a thunderstorm and spreads unpredictably".
During a press conference on Saturday, Italian prosecutors said that, around 4.38 am, the Coast Guard received a call about the accident. However, by the time they got to the location, the boat had already sunk.
Ambrogio Cartosio, the chief prosecutor of the nearby town of Termini Imerese, said it was likely that offences were committed in connection with the sinking of the yacht. He said they would investigate if the captain, crew, individuals in charge of supervision, the ship-builder, or others were responsible, BBC reported.
According to the BBC, the Italian authorities do not have exact information about the black box of the yacht, which could provide them crucial data, including its position, speed, and radar information.