A crew member on Mike Lynch’s yacht said he was thrown overboard and hurt trying to rescue passengers when it sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily this month, the accident that killed the British tech mogul and six others.
Matthew Griffiths, who was on watch duty on the night of the tragedy, told investigators that crew members had made every effort to save those on board the Bayesian ship, Italian news agency Ansa reports.
Griffiths, the boat’s captain James Cutfield and the ship’s engineer Tim Parker Eaton are under investigation by Italian authorities for possible manslaughter and charges of causing the sinking of the ship. The investigation does not mean they are guilty and does not mean formal charges will be laid.
“I woke the captain up when the wind was 20 knots (23 mph/37 kph). He ordered everyone else to wake up,” ANSA quoted Griffiths as saying.
“The ship tilted and we fell into the water. Then we managed to get back up and we tried to save the people we could,” he said, describing the incident that took place on the morning of August 19. The Bayesian ship was anchored near the port of Porticello in Sicily at the time.
“We were walking along the walls of the boat. We saved the ones we could, Cutfield even saved the little girl and her mother,” he said, referring to passenger Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter. In all, there were 15 survivors of the wreck.
Cutfield’s lawyers said he exercised his right to remain silent when questioned by prosecutors on Tuesday. He said he was “exhausted” and needed more time to build the defense’s case. Parker Eaton has not commented on the investigation.
Prosecutor Raffaele Camerano said last week that the ship was probably hit by a “downburst” (a very strong downward wind).
However, the sinking has surprised naval marine experts, who said a vessel like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have weathered the storm and in any case should not have sunk so quickly.
Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, near Palermo, have said their investigation will take time because the ship’s wreckage has yet to be pulled from the sea.
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