Captain of Bayesian superyacht 'under official investigation for manslaughter'

Italian prosecutors are currently investigating the captain of a yacht which sunk last week, resulting in seven deaths.

The Bayesian yacht sunk off the Sicilian coast on 19 August, resulting in the deaths of Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Jonathan and Judy Bloomer, Chris and Neda Morvillo and Recaldo Thomas.

There were a total of 22 passengers on the yacht, with 15 surviving the sinking including the vessel's captain James Cutfield.

The 51-year-old New Zealand national was among the survivors and his lawyer confirmed that he was being investigated after prosecutors in Italy announced they had opened an investigation into the possibility of manslaughter.

Aldo Mordiglia, one of two legal representatives appointed to defend the vessel's captain, said that Cutfield had already been questioned and would be questioned once again by prosecutors today (27 August).

Prosecutors have said they are investigating the yacht's captain, though an investigation doesn't mean guilt. (ALESSANDRO FUCARINI/AFP via Getty Images)

According to The Guardian, Giovanni Rizzuti is another lawyer appointed to defend Cutfield and said: "Our client is deeply affected by this ordeal.

"We are currently assessing, with other legal representatives, the defence strategy and examining the technical aspects of the case."

Under Italian law, being under investigation does not imply guilt and doesn't mean that charges will follow - there may be more people who are also under investigation.

The Termini Imerese Prosecutor's Office declined to comment when approached by LADbible on Monday (26 August).

Italian prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio announced on Saturday (24 August) that an investigation had been launched and would consider how responsible many parties were for the sinking of the yacht.

All seven bodies have been recovered, but investigators would also like to recover the wreck of the yacht. (ALESSANDRO FUCARINI/AFP via Getty Images)

That included the captain, the crew and the yacht's manufacturer, as investigators are also looking into how a vessel that was deemed 'unsinkable' went down when a nearby sailing boat did not.

Prosecutors have said that the sinking of the Bayesian yacht was 'extremely rapid' and could have been caused by a 'downburst', where powerful wind from a thunderstorm that occurs when the air races downward from an overhead cloud.

They believe that the locations of the bodies recovered from the yacht can point towards what happened as well.

Officials also want to recover the wreckage of the yacht so they can fully investigate the vessel's sinking.

At present, the Bayesian is 50 metres underwater in the bay of the Sicilian town of Porticello.

"It’s in the interests of the owners and managers of the ship to salvage it," prosecutor Cartosio said, adding that 'they have assured their full cooperation'.

The Guardian also reports that work on recovering the Bayesian from beneath the bay is not expected to start until October.