The captain of the luxury yacht that sank in the Mediterranean last week, killing tech mogul Mike Lynch and six others, is under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck, Reuters reported. ReportedQuoted from a judicial source.
James Cutfield, the 51-year-old captain, was questioned by prosecutors on Sunday for two hours, according to Italian police. RepublicThe New Zealander is due to be questioned again on Tuesday. Corriere della Sera reported:.
Giovanni Rizzotti, one of the lawyers appointed to defend Catfield, said the yacht captain was “deeply affected by the enormous tragedy” and intended to defend himself, according to the newspaper.
Another lawyer, Aldo Mordiglia, He told the Washington Post, Via email, reports said Catfield is under investigation for involuntary manslaughter.
The 184-foot luxury yacht “Baizian” sank off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, last week.
Fifteen people, including Lynch’s wife Angela BakarisSeven people were rescued, while seven others – including Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah – were rescued. His death has been confirmed.
An investigation is still underway to determine the exact cause of the ship’s sinking, but some have criticised the ship’s crew for alleged shortcomings.
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini Navi, the company that built the Baysian in 2008, blamed the crews for not following protocol and failing to prepare for the storm.
He told the Financial Times that the yacht sank in 16 minutes but that the ship was “designed to be absolutely stable” because it had the second-longest mast in the world.
Costantino told the newspaper that when the yacht began to enter the water, the captain should have shut everything down and gathered all the passengers at a safe point, with no one in his cabin, in line with protocol.
In an interview with Reuters, Costantino said the yacht’s crew had made a “huge mistake” by not preparing for the powerful storm that had arrived.
Franco Romani, the naval architect who was part of the team that designed the yacht, said, No Stampa The Bayesian ship was built to sail in “any weather” and a side hatch left open may have allowed water into the ship, Reuters reported.
Italian prosecutors said at a news conference on Saturday that they had opened an investigation into involuntary manslaughter.
Ambrogio Cartosio, head of the Termini Imerese prosecutor’s office, said he was investigating the “criminal hypothesis” of shipwreck and manslaughter.
It is not yet clear whether other crew members will be investigated, Reuters reported, adding that being investigated in Italy does not automatically lead to formal charges or implicit conviction.
Corriere della Sera reported that investigators had asked Catfield’s deputy, Thijs Koopmans, to remain in Sicily for further questioning, but did not specify whether he was under investigation.