Captain targeted by investigation for “involuntary manslaughter” – Liberation

Investigations reveal the mystery of the shipwreck near the port of Palermo. Italian justice has opened a formal investigation into James Cutfield, the captain of the luxury sailboat whose ship sank last week off the coast of Sicily, killing seven people, including tech mogul Mike Lynch, Italian media reported on Monday, August 26. The investigation is specifically targeting “involuntary manslaughter,” according to daily newspapers. La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera.

The man who was at the helm of the luxury sailing ships Bayesiana 51-year-old New Zealander, sank near Palermo. The captain has been questioned for several hours by Italian police, who are trying to understand the cause of the disaster. The ship was owned by Mike Lynch, nicknamed “the British Bill Gates”. He and six other people on board died on Monday, August 19.

Ambrogio Cartosio, chief prosecutor of Termini Imerese, said Saturday that although the yacht was hit by a sudden wave of water, multiple homicides and a drowning were likely due to negligence. Captain James Cutfield told investigators he wasn’t worried about the weather because there was no storm warning, investigators say. Corriere della SeraThe information was confirmed by Rafael Macoda, commander of the Coast Guard in Palermo. “On that day, Meteomar [de l’armée de l’air, ndlr] Scattered thunderstorms and good visibility are expected over the area from midnight on August 19th through the next 12 hours. This means that except for extreme events, there are no storm warnings in effect.

A hole in the heart of the investigation

What caused the sinking of this famous ship? “unsinkable”, As stated by the president of the Italian Sea Group, which built the luxury yacht? Investigators and maritime experts seem to be focusing their attention on the ship's hatch: could the door have been left open unintentionally? In columns Corriere della Sera, Franco Romani, a retired engineer who worked in Paysan When he left the Perini shipyard in Viareggio in 2008, he put forward the hypothesis that “open side slit”. “If so, when the boat went down, tons of water came in, which must have invaded even the engine room, and there was nothing that could be done. […] With a tight seal, the boat could not have sunk. Confirms.

Daily Italian lego It raises another disturbing aspect that raises questions for investigators: “How could only one of the ten crew members die while six of the 12 passengers died? Were the crew on deck aware of the storm and did not sound the alarm for those still asleep in their cabins?

However, the prosecutor in Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Carosio, has not ruled out any leads, The Guardian reported. Corriere della Sera : “We are investigating and assessing whether the responsibility lies with the captain, the entire crew or the boat builders,” he added. Maritime law gives the captain full responsibility for the ship and its crew, as well as the safety of all persons on board. But being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not necessarily mean that formal charges will necessarily follow.

An autopsy on the victims, scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, will also help lift part of the veil covering the ship's wreckage. James Cutfield and his eight survivors have not made any public comments about the disaster.