During the press conference promoter Ambrogio Cartosio said the investigation is not currently directed against specific individuals and is investigating “the crime of negligent shipwreck and causing death several times. But we are only in the early stages – completed Cartósio. We don’t rule anything out – he said.
When a sudden and violent storm broke out before dawn on Monday, August 19, there were twenty-two people aboard the 175-foot Bayesian. Divers began a rescue operation, they recovered seven bodies from the wreckage. At the time of the sinking, the ship was anchored about half a mile from the coast and divers had to search its hull at the bottom of the sea, 50 meters deep.
Sinking due to “inappropriate behavior”?
Fifteen people survived, including all but one of the ship’s crew. Cartósio said that sinking could have been caused ““inappropriate behavior”. Responding to questions from reporters, prosecutors asked about the crew’s responsibilities said they were “focusing on this specific aspect,” adding that they wanted to “find out how much they knew and to what extent all people were warned.”
They said they died the passengers were probably sleeping and that is why they were unable to escape. Prosecutors also confirmed that the captain of the Bayesiana would be subjected to further questioning. New Zealander James Cutfield has already been questioned for more than two hours, with prosecutors saying he was “extremely cooperative”.
Sinking in a few minutes
Before the sinking, bad weather was forecast, but as the Italian investigators said,“There was no indication that an extreme situation could occur.”. According to reports from the yacht’s surviving passengers, the shipwreck occurred in a few minutes and it was a shock to them. Prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano added that “the investigation, which will be based on the recovery and subsequent analysis of the wreckage, will provide answers to questions that remain unknown.”
The body of a tech mogul Mike Lynch – commonly described in the media as “British Bill Gates” – was among the bodies recovered from the wreckage. After a five-day rescue operation, he was the last one found 18 year old daughter, Hannah. The other victims were Lynch associates and partners, including one of the lawyers who successfully defended him in a U.S. fraud trial earlier this summer: Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International and British insurance company Hiscox, and his wife Judy.
The body of Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian citizen from Antigua who worked as a cook on the ship, was found shortly after the accident. The prosecutor’s office said an autopsy has not yet been performed.
