The Commander of the Bayesian51-year-old New Zealander James cutfieldwas heard again from the Termini Imerese Prosecutor’s Office as a person informed of the facts, in relation to the shipwreck on Monday 19th August which caused the death of 7 of the 22 people who were on board the English billionaire’s ship Mike Lynchwho died in the accident along with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Before starting the autopsies on the bodies of the victims, which should be done after the notification of the warranty noticesthe prosecutor wanted to clarify with the captain what emerged during the Testimonies collected by the other survivors and, in particular, by the guests who, as reported by the Evening Courier on newsstands on Sunday 25 August, they would have declared that it was not given no alarm during the 16 minutes that saw the ship sink. “The only alert that appears to have been launched by the crew of the sailing vessel was the emergency rocket, at 4.38, when the superyacht had already sunk 50 meters and rested on the seabed”, writes the newspaper, adding that according to witnesses, before the rocket no one had knocked on the booths or played a sirenor given the order via loudspeaker to go on deck. In other words, those who came out, saving themselves, did so spontaneously.
One question that investigators will have to ask is the position of all those on board: how come only one of the 10 crew members died while six of the 12 passengers died? Was the crew already on deck aware of the storm and did not raise the alarm to those who were still sleeping in their cabins?
Among the questions asked to Cutfield, there will also have been one regarding the side door (was it closed or open?) and the state of the keel. The autopsies on the victims’ bodies should begin next week after the notification of the notices of investigation, the hypothesis of crime is shipwreck and manslaughter. The exams are unrepeatable therefore any suspects will have to appoint independent consultants. The spotlight is on those responsible for navigation, the captain, perhaps his deputy and the man who was on the bridge when the adverse weather event broke out.
The question of the hatches and the keel are central to the investigation. The boat was considered unsinkable and only taking on tons of water it could sink from the stern, experts say, as Franco Romani of the project office of Perini Ships who for the 56-meter series of Perini speaks of “boats that can do anything. My personal interpretation is that they left the side hatch open. If you close everything, the water doesn’t get in: in extreme conditions, the boat can roll as much as it wants, but it doesn’t sink. That’s why I think the side hatch was left open, the one used to get out with the tender and dive. There’s a margin of 60 centimeters: when the boat heeled, tons of water got in and ended up invading the engine room, if, as I think, that was left open too – he adds – And there was nothing more to do”.
The nine crew members are still in theDomina-Zagarella hotel in Santa Flavia (Palermo) which is always closed off and off limits to journalists. There is a coming and going of cars from the State Police and of the Harbour Master’s Office. Hotel officials have not received any information about the whereabouts of the nine after the six surviving Bayesian passengers, including the formal owner, died on Saturday. Angela BarcaresLynch’s wife and Hannah’s mother, left Zagarella to board a private jet bound for London.
In the stretch of sea in front of Porticello where the vessel sank there are no boats, except for a boat from the Coast Guard because the area is navigation prohibited. Porticello has returned to normal after the police, the Coast Guard and volunteers have completed the recovery operations of the victims’ bodies, leaving the streets and pier free.
