Italian authorities open investigation into doomed superyacht Bayesian

Italian authorities have opened an investigation into what happened on the doomed superyacht as a Kiwi captain is grilled for several hours.

Italian authorities have opened an investigation into what happened on doomed superyacht Bayesian after it sank off Sicily — with the captain grilled for two hours.

The body of billionaire tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch is among the five bodies divers recovered on Wednesday from the wreckage of his $58 million luxury yacht.

The 59-year-old was said to be trapped by two mattresses inside a cabin on the superyacht, according to Italian publication La Repubblica.

His 18-year-old daughter Hannah is reportedly still missing.

Prosecutors have been interviewing survivors from the tragedy, including Kiwi captain James Cutfield, 51.

The 56-metre yacht had been anchored 700m offshore on the Italian island of Sicily when it capsized during a violent sunrise storm on Monday.

Fifteen people were rescued, including Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, a mother with her one-year-old baby, and New Zealand captain James Cutfield who is recovering in hospital.

The 51-year-old, who managed to escape from the vessel, was interrogated by police for several hours, Giornale Di Sicilia reported.

Divers have recovered five of the six missing passengers. Picture: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

He told Italian media of the abrupt nature of the water spout that made a death trap out of the superyacht.

“We just didn’t see it coming,” he said.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Mr Cutfield.

Mr Cutfield’s brother Mark told the NZ Herald his brother was a “very good sailor” and was “very well respected” in the Mediterranean.

He said he is currently in hospital but was not suffering from injuries “too dramatic”.

“He’s safe, he’s okay.”

Mr Cutfield’s wife had flown from their home in Palma, Mallorca, to be by his side in Italy and has been updating his family back home in New Zealand.

Billionaire Mike Lynch’s body was pulled from the water on Wednesday. Picture: Ben Gurr/ POOL / AFP

According to the NZ Herald, he had been a captain on luxury yachts for eight years and had previously been working on them and involved in building them for the past 30 years in various locations around the Mediterranean.

The publication reported that before Mr Cutfield worked for the British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, he had worked for a Turkish billionaire.

Mark described his brother as a “top sailor” having raced 470s competitively in his youth.

Mr Cutfield’s interrogation comes after divers found that the keel, a crucial part of the boat’s structure which helps keep it balanced, had been raised when the yacht was anchored off shore.

His wife Angela Bacare (together, above) survived the tragedy.

Charlotte Golunski, from London, her husband James Emsilie and their one-year-old daughter survived superyacht tragedy. Picture: Facebook

The keel operates as the main structural backbone of the yacht, filled with heavy materials, keeping it balanced and helping it to correct in stormy waters.

Dan Green, Research & Investigations lead at eSysman SuperYachts, told The Mirror that if the keel was raised it would harm the boat’s stability and could explain why it sank so quickly.

“The keel when lowered increases the stability of the vessel,” he said.

The 22 people onboard were reportedly celebrating the tech tycoon’s acquittal in a fraud trial. Picture: yachtcharterfleet.com

“When raised, this reduces stability as the centre of gravity is raised, as the keel is also weighted with lead.

“Another effect of the keel being in the up position is the vessel will not self-right if it leans far over.

“If you add to that the possibility of hatches being opened on the vessel that would explain why it’s saying [sinking] so quickly.”

The UK’s marine accident investigation branch also sent four inspectors.

Matthew Schanck, from the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, told AFP what happened was “pretty unprecedented” after the yacht was struck by a “black swan” waterspout during a storm.

UK meteorologist Peter Inness described a waterspout as a “narrow column of rotating air below a thunderstorm that occurs over water”.

Like tornadoes, they suck up air in a rotating motion. Many are fairly inconsequential, but some can pack winds of more than 100km per hour, Mr Inness.

Jean-Marie Dumon, a former naval officer now with the GICAN, the French maritime industry association, added that conditions with winds of 100kph or more can “create completely anarchic sea conditions which can cause capsizing”.

The superyacht believed to have sank within minutes.

– with AFP