Bayesian yacht sinking latest: Mike Lynch’s wife ‘didn’t want to leave boat without family’ as crew under investigation

The captain of Mike Lynch’s yacht flew out of Palermo on Thursday, 10 days after the British tech tycoon and six other people were killed when the vessel sank off the coast of Sicily.

James Cutfield left the Sicilian capital on a private jet, an investigative source said, adding the destination of the flight was unknown. Cutfield, a New Zealander, lives with his wife in Palma on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

Cutfield was put under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck earlier this week and declined to answer questions from prosecutors on Tuesday.

Two other crew members were placed under investigation on Wednesday. Being investigated does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will follow.

Those facing investigation have no obligation to stay in Italy but have to nominate lawyers so that the authorities have a way of remaining in contact with them.

It was supposed to be a summer celebration.

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch had gathered his tried and trusted lawyers who had been with him every step of the way helping him emerge unscathed from a gruelling 13-year legal battle. Twelve guests had flown into the picturesque Italian port of Porticello, near Palermo from the UK, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland, to mark the end of the fraud trial that had consumed much of their lives.

But now a manslaughter investigation has been launched as Mr Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the seven people who died after the vessel capsized during bad weather in the early hours of Monday morning.

My colleagues Barney Davis and Jabed Ahmed report:

British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the people initially unaccounted for after his superyacht Bayesian sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday.

After a decade-long legal battle which had seen him extradited to the US to face an $11bn fraud case, Mr Lynch had celebrated by inviting his close friends, colleagues and those who helped him on his legal team aboard his boat as a gesture of gratitude.

My colleague Rachel Hagan outlines what we know about the 22 people on board:

The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts, who said a vessel like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini and deemed “unsinkable”, should have withstood the storm – and, in any case, should not have sunk as quickly as it did. Meanwhile, a nearby sailing boat remained largely unscathed.

Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, near Palermo, said the event was “extremely rapid” and could have been a “downburst” – a localised, powerful wind, which descends from a thunderstorm and spreads out rapidly upon hitting the ground.

They added that their investigation would take time and would require the wreck of the Bayesian – which is lying on its right side, at a depth of around 50 metres (164 feet) – to be salvaged from the sea.

Chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, who is heading the investigation, has said his team would consider each possible element of responsibility including those of the captain, the crew, individuals in charge of supervision and the yacht’s manufacturer.

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.

Members of the yachting community have signalled their support for the captain and crew of the Bayesian as some have been placed under investigation.

One wrote on social media: “Now we need those keyboard warriors and judgemental ‘know it alls’ to actually wait and listen to the unbiased actual professionals …

“I still stand in support of all Bayesian crew and if things turn sour, I propose all my friends in yachting to stand together and sign a strong petition to support the remaining survived crew to Bayesian.”

A crew member who has been placed under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck in connection with the sinking of the Bayesian has now left Palermo, according to a source.

Sailor Matthew Griffith was on watch duty on the night the superyacht sank in Sicily, the source said.

He flew out of Palermo late on Wednesday, with the source saying he was heading for the French city of Nice.

Those under investigation have no obligation to stay in Italy but have to nominate lawyers so that the authorities have a way of remaining in contact with them.

The boat’s 51-year-old captain James Cutfield, a New Zealander, and ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton have both been put under investigation for the same crimes.

Four other crew members, who have not been placed under investigation, have left Palermo.

Two of them headed for Dubai and the other two travelled to Istanbul.