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Captain of sunken Sicilian superyacht under investigation as seven victims identified

Among the victims was British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, as authorities investigate the captain for negligence.

Pop Culture & Art August 26, 2024

Divers of the Vigili del Fuoco, the Italian Corps. of Firefighters arrive in Porticello harbor near Palermo, with a third body at the back of the boat on August 21, 2024, two days after the British-flagged luxury yacht Bayesian sank. Divers searching for six missing people following the sinking of a superyacht off Sicily in a storm have found two bodies, a source close to the search told AFP. The Bayesian, which had 22 people aboard including 10 crew, was anchored some 700 metres from port before dawn when it was struck by a waterspout. Among the six missing were UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, and Jonathan Bloomer, the chair of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife Judy. PHOTO: AFP

The captain of the sunken superyacht, the Bayesian, is under investigation following a tragic incident off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, where seven people lost their lives.

The 183-foot yacht sank rapidly on Monday, August 19, around 5 a.m. local time during a violent storm, according to reports from the Italian coast guard.

Of the 22 people aboard, including 12 passengers and 10 crew members, 15 were rescued, but seven were tragically confirmed dead.

James Cutfield, 50, from New Zealand, who was commanding the vessel, is now officially under investigation for "negligent shipwreck and multiple counts of negligent homicide," per Italian news agency Ansa.

On Sunday, August 25, Cutfield was questioned for the second time by prosecutors from the Termini Imerese Prosecutor's Office, focusing on key details such as the keel's position, the status of the hatch, and the timing of the alarm as the weather deteriorated.

Authorities have reconstructed the 32-minute window from when the yacht began taking on water to the firing of the first distress flare at 4:38 a.m.

Despite the ongoing investigation, an Italian criminal lawyer emphasized that this does not imply guilt, and charges have not yet been filed.

The investigation does allow those involved to appoint their own medical experts for the autopsies, expected to take place from Monday, August 26, to Thursday, August 29.

During a press conference on Saturday, August 24, Sicilian authorities identified the victims, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah Lynch, New York attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda, and Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy.

The group was reportedly celebrating Lynch's recent acquittal of fraud and conspiracy charges when the storm struck. Chef Recaldo Thomas' body was also recovered in the days following the disaster.