Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
A public prosecutor investigating the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht is probing the potential offence of “negligent shipwreck”, according to an official in Sicily, as the final missing body was recovered on Friday.
The investigation is into “persons unknown”, said the official, who asked not to be identified. The probe is being led by prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio from the local town of Termini Imerese.
Bayesian sank off Sicily in the early hours of Monday morning, causing the deaths of seven people, including UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch. Fifteen passengers and crew were rescued, including Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares.
The body of Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah was recovered on Friday, their family said, bringing to seven the total confirmed dead in the sinking.
“The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends,” a Lynch spokesperson said. “Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy.”
Katya Lewis, a friend, paid tribute to Hannah Lynch’s “warm and beautiful soul”.
The Italian coastguard confirmed that recovery operations have concluded after five days of divers searching the wreckage, which is located close to the fishing village of Porticello.
The chief executive of Bayesian’s manufacturer has said the boat was “absolutely safe” and the crew should have had time to evacuate the passengers. The captain of the boat has not responded to requests for comment from the Financial Times.
Italian and UK authorities, which are investigating the circumstances of the incident, have not said when the boat started filling with water, whether vulnerable hatches were open, or whether the crew started the engine and tried to manoeuvre out of danger.
Negligent shipwreck was one of the offences of which the captain of Costa Concordia was convicted. The cruise ship foundered after hitting rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio in 2012, causing the deaths of 32 people.
The Italian investigation is running in parallel to a probe by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch, as Bayesian was British-flagged.
The trip on Bayesian, owned by Lynch’s family, was to celebrate his acquittal on US fraud charges related to Hewlett-Packard’s $11bn acquisition of Autonomy, the UK software group led by the tech entrepreneur. Lynch’s lawyer Christopher Morvillo, his wife Neda, witness for the defence Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy were among those who perished.
Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy’s former finance chief who knew Lynch for more than 40 years, said he was “utterly devastated by the deaths of so many of our dear friends”.
“It is truly impossible to fathom how they can all be gone over such a short period,” said Hussain, who was convicted in the US of accounting fraud linked to the HP-Autonomy deal in 2018. “It is tragic beyond words.”
Additional reporting by Victor Mallet in London
Credit: Source link
