ROME: Prosecutors in Italy said Saturday they have opened an investigation into culpable shipwreck and multiple manslaughter after a superyacht capsized during a storm off the coast of Sicily, killing seven people onboard. They included British tech magnate Mike Lynch and his daughter.
Termini Imerese prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio confirmed the investigation has been launched, but hasn’t identified a suspect.
“We are only in the initial phase of the investigation. We can’t exclude any sort of development at present,” he told reporters at a news conference.
Cartosio said his team will carefully consider each possible element of responsibility, including those of the Bayesian’s captain, the crew, individuals in charge of supervision, the yacht’s manufacturer and others.
“For me, it is probable that offenses were committed, that it could be a case of manslaughter, but we can only establish that if you give us the time to investigate,” he said.
The main question investigators are focusing on is how a sailing vessel deemed “unsinkable” by its manufacturer, Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.
Prosecutors said the event was “extremely rapid” and could have been a “downburst” — localized, powerful wind that descends from a thunderstorm and spreads out rapidly upon hitting the ground.
Initially, civil protection officials said they believe the yacht, which featured a distinctive 75-meter (246-feet) aluminum mast, was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout.
Investigators were also asked why the crew was almost entirely saved, except for the chef, while six passengers remained trapped in the hull.
Local official confirmed that most of the bodies recovered were found in the same part of the yacht — on the left side and closer to the surface — suggesting that passengers had sought safety in the cabins where the last air bubbles had formed.
Deputy Prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano said it was likely that the passengers were asleep, adding that one of the main focus of the investigation is to ascertain whether they were alerted by someone.
Cammarano confirmed that one person was on watch in the cockpit.
Rescuers on Friday brought ashore the last of seven bodies from the sinking of the Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged luxury yacht that went down in a storm near the Mediterranean island in southern Italy early Monday. The sailboat was carrying a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers.
The seventh victim was Hannah Lynch, 18, the daughter of Mike Lynch., whose body was recovered Thursday. He had been celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges with his family and the people who had defended him at trial in the United States. His wife, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 survivors.
Rescuers struggled for four days to find all the bodies, making only slow headway through the interior of the wreck lying on the seabed 50 meters (164 feet) below the surface.
Prosecutors said the recovery of the Bayesian will be crucial for the investigation, but noted it will be a long and complex process, which will be paid for by the owners.
The other five victims are Christopher Morvillo, one of Lynch’s US lawyers, and his wife, Neda; Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley’s London-based investment banking subsidiary, and his wife, Judy; and Recaldo Thomas, the yacht’s chef.
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Italian prosecutors open shipwreck and manslaughter investigation into superyacht sinking
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Italian prosecutors open shipwreck and manslaughter investigation into superyacht sinking
- Superyacht capsized during storm off coast of Sicily, killing seven people onboard
- British tech magnate Mike Lynch and his daughter among the dead
Over 400 civilians killed in fighting in eastern Congo, despite US-mediated peace deal
GOMA: More than 400 civilians have been killed as the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group continues its offensive in Kivu province in eastern Congo, regional officials said late Wednesday, adding that Rwandan special forces were in the strategic city of Uvira.
M23’s latest offensive comes despite a US-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington. The accord didn’t include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating. However, it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups and work to end hostilities.
“More than 413 civilians (have been) killed by bullets, grenades, and bombs, including many women, children, and young people” in localities between Uvira and Bukavu, the regional capital, the South Kivu government spokesperson said in a statement late Wednesday.
“According to the information gathered, the forces present in the city are composed of Rwandan special forces and some of their foreign mercenaries, operating in clear violation of the ceasefire as well as the Washington and Doha agreements, in total disregard of the commitments made,” the statement added.
M23 said it had taken control of the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Congo on Wednesday afternoon, following a rapid offensive since the start of the month.
The announcement by M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, posted on the social platform X, encouraged citizens who fled to return to their homes. Uvira is an important port city on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika and is directly across from neighboring Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura.
Congo, the US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which had hundreds of members in 2021. Now, according to the UN, the group has around 6,500 fighters.
While Rwanda denies that claim, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security. UN experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.
Burundian Foreign Minister Edouard Bizimana, in an interview with French state media RFI on Wednesday, urged the US to pressure Rwandan President Paul Kagame to ensure the implementation of the agreement signed in the US, saying, “M23 without Kagame, without Rwanda, is nothing.”
Bizimana said the capture of Uvira poses a threat to the economic capital, Bujumbura.
“We have registered more than 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers in the last three days… Uvira and Bujumbura are coastal cities. What threatens Uvira also threatens Bujumbura.”
In a statement Wednesday, the US Embassy in Kinshasa urged M23 and Rwandan troops to cease all offensive operations and for the Rwandan Defense Forces to withdraw to Rwanda.
On Wednesday morning, the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed the Congolese armed forces for the recent ceasefire violations in a statement on X.
“The DRC has openly stated that it would not observe any ceasefire, and was fighting to recapture territories lost to AFC/M23, even as the peace process unfolded,” it said.
More than 100 armed groups are vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, most prominently M23. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, officials say.
Local UN partners report that more than 200,000 people have been displaced across the province since Dec. 2, with more than 70 killed. Civilians also have crossed into Burundi, and there have been reports of shells falling in the town of Rugombo, on the Burundian side of the border, raising concerns about the conflict spilling over into Burundian territory.
M23’s latest offensive comes despite a US-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington. The accord didn’t include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating. However, it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups and work to end hostilities.
“More than 413 civilians (have been) killed by bullets, grenades, and bombs, including many women, children, and young people” in localities between Uvira and Bukavu, the regional capital, the South Kivu government spokesperson said in a statement late Wednesday.
“According to the information gathered, the forces present in the city are composed of Rwandan special forces and some of their foreign mercenaries, operating in clear violation of the ceasefire as well as the Washington and Doha agreements, in total disregard of the commitments made,” the statement added.
M23 said it had taken control of the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Congo on Wednesday afternoon, following a rapid offensive since the start of the month.
The announcement by M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, posted on the social platform X, encouraged citizens who fled to return to their homes. Uvira is an important port city on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika and is directly across from neighboring Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura.
Congo, the US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which had hundreds of members in 2021. Now, according to the UN, the group has around 6,500 fighters.
While Rwanda denies that claim, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security. UN experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.
Burundian Foreign Minister Edouard Bizimana, in an interview with French state media RFI on Wednesday, urged the US to pressure Rwandan President Paul Kagame to ensure the implementation of the agreement signed in the US, saying, “M23 without Kagame, without Rwanda, is nothing.”
Bizimana said the capture of Uvira poses a threat to the economic capital, Bujumbura.
“We have registered more than 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers in the last three days… Uvira and Bujumbura are coastal cities. What threatens Uvira also threatens Bujumbura.”
In a statement Wednesday, the US Embassy in Kinshasa urged M23 and Rwandan troops to cease all offensive operations and for the Rwandan Defense Forces to withdraw to Rwanda.
On Wednesday morning, the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed the Congolese armed forces for the recent ceasefire violations in a statement on X.
“The DRC has openly stated that it would not observe any ceasefire, and was fighting to recapture territories lost to AFC/M23, even as the peace process unfolded,” it said.
More than 100 armed groups are vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, most prominently M23. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, officials say.
Local UN partners report that more than 200,000 people have been displaced across the province since Dec. 2, with more than 70 killed. Civilians also have crossed into Burundi, and there have been reports of shells falling in the town of Rugombo, on the Burundian side of the border, raising concerns about the conflict spilling over into Burundian territory.
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