Two More Crew Members Under Investigation Over Sinking Of Superyacht Bayesian

Two more crew members from the Bayesian are under investigation for manslaughter after seven people were killed when the superyacht sank in a storm off Sicily last week.

A judicial source said on Wednesday that Italian prosecutors are probing two more crew members in connection with the vessel’s sinking, along with its captain, after the British-flagged Bayesian capsized on 19 August while anchored off northern Sicily.

British technology tycoon Mike Lynch, his 19-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch, and five other people died when his 56-metre-long (184-foot) yacht went down within minutes of being hit by the pre-dawn tornado near the Sicilian capital of Palermo.

On Monday, the boat’s 51-year-old captain James Cutfield, a New Zealander, was put under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck. Cutfield declined to respond to prosecutors during questioning the following day.

It was revealed on Wednesday that ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith are both also being investigated over the same crimes. The source said that Parker Eaton is suspected of having failed to protect the yacht’s engine room and operating systems, while Griffith was on watch duty on the night of the incident.

Being investigated does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will follow.

The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts, who said a vessel like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have withstood the storm and, in any case, should not have sunk as quickly as it did.

Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, near Palermo, have said their investigation would take time, and would require the wreck to be salvaged from the sea. The Bayesian is lying on its right side, at a depth of around 50 metres (164 feet).

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