Sicily Yacht Tragedy: Captain of Mike Lynch’s Boat Under Investigation for Manslaughter

Next steps are being taken following the yacht sinking in Sicily.

The captain of the Bayesian superyacht James Cutfield is under investigation after seven of the 22 people aboard—including six passengers and the ship’s chef—died after a waterspout struck and sunk the ship, as confirmed by prosecutors during a press conference Aug. 24.

The New Zealander’s lawyer Giovanni Rizzuti confirmed to NBC News that a multiple manslaughter investigation has been launched into his client, alongside an investigation for causing a shipwreck. Rizzuti also confirmed Cutfield will be questioned again by prosecutors in Sicily on Aug. 27.

E! News has reached out to Rizzuti for comment but has not yet heard back.

However, that does not mean he will face charges. As NBC News noted, being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not guarantee formal charges will follow. Instead, notices need to be sent to people under investigation before authorities can carry out autopsies.

Authorities have not yet confirmed whether any of the other crew members will be put under investigation alongside Cutfield.

The news of the investigation comes after all six of the missing guests aboard the Bayesian were confirmed dead when the last body was found on Aug. 23.

The seven victims have previously been confirmed—by news outlets or their places of employment—as British tech mogul Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomerand lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo. The body of the ship’s cook Recaldo Thomas was found shortly after the incident.

Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares was among the 15 people aboard the Bayesian who were rescued by a nearby vessel and then brought to shore by the Coast Guard after the boat capsized.  

The accident occurred on Aug. 19 when a violent storm struck suddenly off the coast of Sicily. Director of Sicily's Civil Protection Agency Salvatore Cocina previously shared that it was likely a waterborne tornado—known as a waterspout—that sunk the 180-foot vessel, noting that the yacht was "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

One of the 15 surviving passengers Charlotte Golunski, who survived alongside her partner James Emsley and her 12-month-old daughter Sophie, previously detailed the terrifying moment the ship was hit by the storm.

"For two seconds, I lost my daughter in the sea, then quickly hugged her amid the fury of the waves," she told Italian newspaper La Repubblica Aug. 20, per the BBC. "It was all dark. In the water I couldn't keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others."

(E! News and NBC News are part of NBCUniversal.)

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