Italian authorities reveal first key findings of Bayesian manslaughter probe into tragic sinking after ‘mistakes’ made
ITALIAN prosecutors have revealed their first key findings of a manslaughter probe into the Bayesian disaster – after the luxury yacht was branded “unsinkable”.
It sank in the early hours of Monday morning when it was ensnared in a storm off the northern coast of Sicily, killing seven.
The body of the last missing passenger – 18-year-old Hannah Lynch – was recovered on Friday, as authorities now shift their attention to how the horror unfolded.
Speaking on Saturday, Chief Prosecutor of Termini Imerese Ambrogio Cartosio said investigators “cannot exclude anything at all” and that it “could be a question of homicide”.
He said: “We feel close to the families, the families have undergone this loss.
“And what’s even more painful would be in fact if the development of the inquiry were to demonstrate that this tragedy, this terrible tragedy, was caused by behaviours that were not perfectly in order with regard to the responsibility everybody had.
“I’d like to officially communicate with you that the prosecutor has hypothesised that there could be in fact the question of homicide.
“But this is the beginning of the inquiry… We cannot exclude anything at all.”
The probe is being centred on the crew’s responsibility.
Prosecutors confirmed they were “concentrating on this particular aspect.”
Investigators are vowing to “discover how much they (the crew) knew and to what extent all the people (passengers) were warned”.
How a yacht at the size of the Bayesian – 56 metres long – capsized and sank to the seabed so swiftly is unclear.
A nearby sailboat remained unscathed while the Bayesian descended to doom, despite the “unsinkable” tag it was given by the chief of manufacturer Perini Navi.
Cartosio called the disaster “a very serious tragedy” and praised divers for being “so professional and so courageous”.
He said it was “clear people were trying to hide in cabins on the left hand side”.
Sicilian investigators has been speaking to the 15 survivors, including captain James Cutfield, to gain a sense of whether proper safety precautions were followed with wild weather forecast.
None of them have commented publicly on how the ship went down.
Marine experts have been scratching their heads over how the boat sank so quickly amid claims it should’ve been able to withstand a storm.
Perini Navi boss Giovanni Costantino slammed the crew onboard the vessel for making key “mistakes” before it plunged in just minutes.
Mr Costantino told The Sun: “Modern sailing ships, especially high-tech ones like the Perini, are designed to be extremely safe and stable.
It comes as…
- Brit teen Hannah Lynch was found on the sunken boat on Friday as her family paid tribute
- Five bodies were recovered from the yacht wreck on Wednesday and Thursday including Brit tycoon Mike Lynch
- The CEO of the firm that produced the Bayesian said the boat is ‘unsinkable’ and pointed to human error
- Captain James Cutfield was quizzed for two hours by cops and remains at the centre of a probe
- Experts believe the yacht’s ‘tallest mast in the world‘ may have contributed to the disaster after a freak ‘Black Swan’ weather event struck
- Pictures showed the tiny raft that saved up to 15 people
- Frantic text messages from the survivors revealed the chaos
“Even in very critical conditions, if procedures are followed, a sailing yacht like the Bayesian will return to an upright position.
“However, if the ship takes on water, this stability is compromised.
“Where the water entered will be determined by the investigators.
“What is certain is that the ship took on hundreds of thousands of litres of water.”
A tornado that swept over the sea has been blamed for throwing the Bayesian upside down, but Mr Constantino disputed claims it had not been forecast and said it was “widely predicted”.
Hannah, the 18-year-old student, perished alongside her tech tycoon dad Mike Lynch, 59, and five others in the yacht sinking on Monday.
Hannah and Mike – nicknamed Britain’s Bill Gates – went down alongside Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo.
Fire service chief Girolamo Bentivoglio said divers were recruited from all over Italy to recover the bodies, which were found in cabins on the left-hand side.
He said the specialist divers were forced to negotiate “very little visibility due to the weather conditions”.
He added: “The yacht obviously pinned to the right and obviously the (people) tried to go on the other side and then took refuge in their cabins.
“We found four or five bodies in the cabin on the left and there was another one in the third cabin on the left too, and obviously they were in the higher part of the wreck.”
Autopsies are yet to be carried out, with a timeline on the investigation unclear given the wreck is 50 metres below.
Cartosio revealed a ship owner nearby the Bayesian sinking – named as “Sir Roberts” – was heroic in saving the 15 who made it out alive.
He said: “The matter that we’re interested in is that at 4.32 in the morning, the coastguard were notified that there was a problem at sea.
“And the coast guard sent out a boat and the yacht that we’re talking about had already sunk.
“There were some divers who in fact were obtained from another ship that was 200m from the Bayesian.
“I think that in fact someone called Sir Roberts, who was the owner of that ship, he was able to save most of the people who were onboard.”
Hannah’s heartbroken sister Esme paid tribute to her “best friend” after the teen’s body was brought back to shore
She said: “Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me.
“Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice.”