Whose fault? The investigation continues in Italy after the spectacular sinking of the super yacht on August 19 Bayesian off the coast of Sicily during a mini-tornado. British tycoon Mike Lynch’s boat sank suddenly, killing himself and six others. The latest development is that the sailor on watch that night raised the alarm and woke the captain, Italian media reported on Sunday.
“I monitored the weather conditions all evening, in particular the wind which reached 20 knots (nearly 40 km/h). I then immediately woke the captain who took charge of operations. He gave the order to wake everyone else,” assures Matthew Griffith, according to the Ansa agency and several daily newspapers, which do not cite their source. Prosecutors on the Italian island are investigating possible crimes of shipwreck and involuntary manslaughter.
A “human chain”
Captain James Cutfield, a New Zealand citizen who was among the 15 survivors – nine of the 10 crew members and six of the 12 passengers – is under investigation, as are engineer Tim Parker Eaton, who was in charge of the engine room that night, and seaman Matthew Griffith, who was on watch. Cutfield confirmed that he was woken up by the sailor and ordered “to inform the others because I didn’t like the situation,” according to the Evening Courier.
The story becomes more confusing afterward: the sailboat suddenly tilts and several crew members end up at sea. “We managed to get back on board and we tried to make a human chain to save those who reached the deck,” the sailor continues. He assures that the captain was the first in this chain and that he “helped everyone, the ladies, the mother with her little girl.”
