ReutersItalian authorities investigating the sinking of a luxury yacht in Sicily that killed seven people said they were looking into potential “maritime casualty and manslaughter” charges.
However, they emphasized that the investigation is in its initial stages and no one is being specifically targeted at this time.
British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the victims when the Bayes sank off the coast of Porticello during a storm in the early hours of Monday morning. one.
It was previously thought the ship may have sunk due to a waterspout, but authorities now say the most likely cause was localized strong winds known as downbursts.
After several days of deep-diving searches, Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, and Clifford Chance lawyer K. The bodies of Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were also found in the wreckage at a depth of approximately 50m (164 ft).
On Monday, the body of Canadian Antiguan Recaldo Thomas, who worked as a cook on the superyacht, was found at the scene.
An autopsy will be performed.
The remaining 15 people on the luxury yacht have been rescued.
At a press conference on Saturday morning, Ambrogio Catosio, chief prosecutor of the nearby town of Termini Imerese, said the coast guard had been alerted at 04:38 local time on Monday. But when the crew arrived, the yacht had sunk.
Mr Catosio told reporters he believed there was “very likely illegality” surrounding the yacht’s sinking.
He said they would determine whether the captain, crew, supervisors, shipyard or others were responsible.
“We’re going to determine the responsibility of each department – that’s going to be done through an investigation, so we can’t do that prematurely,” he said.
“It seems to me that there is a strong possibility that criminality has been committed – it could be a case of manslaughter – but we can only be sure of that if we are given time to investigate.”
PA averageDeputy prosecutor Rafael Cammarano told reporters that the Italian Air Force had determined that the sinking was likely caused by a downburst.
Downbursts are localized strong winds that descend from thunderstorms and spread quickly after landing.
The captain of the Palermo fire brigade said the Bayes sank stern first and then rolled to its right side. He explained that the victim then sought shelter on the left side of the ship, which was the last air pocket left when the ship sank.
Local officials said they were investigating why some people on board were able to escape the vessel while others were not.
The commander of the Palermo fire brigade, speaking on behalf of the divers, said that about 70 people were involved in “intensive” search operations every day, with a total of more than 120 dives being carried out.
“We are operating at a depth of 50 meters, and visibility is very low due to weather conditions,” he said.
A diver involved in the operation told the media that entering the yacht’s cabin was “difficult” and took “a long time to clear the obstructions.”
Rafael McCorda, deputy commander of the coast guard in Palermo, said the coast guard was conducting in-depth environmental monitoring.
He added that the owners of the Bayes had expressed interest in raising the ship from the seabed, but the timing was uncertain.
Some experts estimate it could take eight weeks to restore the yacht.
One official said Italian authorities had “no definite information” about the yacht’s black box, a device that records data such as a ship’s position, speed, radar information and sometimes audio.
PAIt is understood that passengers on the yacht had been celebrating Lynch’s acquittal in the US fraud case.
The businessman, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of fraud in the sale of $11bn (£8.64bn) of products to US company Hewlett Packard.
Andrew Kanter, a close friend of Mr Lynch’s, said Mr Lynch was “the smartest man I know” and “the most charming man”.
Meanwhile, friends of his daughter Hannah described the 18-year-old as having a “warm and beautiful soul”, while teachers praised her “extremely high intelligence”.
In a statement, the Bloomer family described Jonathan and Judy Bloomer as “incredible people who were an inspiration to many.”
“Our only comfort is that they are still together,” the statement read.
