Megayacht sinks

Accident on mega yacht could have been murder

After several days, divers were able to recover the body of tech mogul Mike Lynch - pictured with his daughter Hannah.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/AFP/Alberto PIZZOLI, APA/FAMILY HANDOUT)

Following the serious yacht accident off the coast of Sicily, the family of British billionaire Myke Lynch has spoken out for the first time. They thanked the emergency services after the bodies of the tech tycoon and his daughter (18) were recovered. They are being investigated for manslaughter.

"We thank the Italian Coast Guard and all those who contributed to the rescue," said the statement, which the family released via Italian media. The relatives were devastated and asked for their privacy to be respected. 

The responsible public prosecutor reported at a press conference on Saturday morning that a manslaughter investigation had been opened following the accident on the Bayesian, which claimed seven lives. The chief prosecutor, Ambrogio Cartosio, also stated that the accident could have been caused by "inappropriate behavior". However, he added that "this is really only the beginning of an investigation".

A picture of the ship before it sank: 

Those passengers who met their deaths in the ship were probably asleep at the time of the accident, the public prosecutor's office went on to explain. That is why they could not have saved themselves. What puzzles the investigators: Five bodies were found in a cabin that "did not belong to them". They do not yet know what this means. "We have no idea why they were all found in the same cabin."

Shipyard: human error led to accident 
The head of the Italian Sea Group, which owns the Perini Navi shipyard that built the Bayesian, is convinced that human error led to the accident. The crew made a series of "indescribable, unreasonable mistakes". Design faults have been ruled out. The shipyard, Perini Navi, had advertised the Bayesian as "unsinkable". 

The ship's black box, which has not yet been found, could provide new insights. So far, the investigators have revealed few details that could provide clues as to what caused the tragedy - for example, whether hatches were open that allowed water to flow into the ship or whether the lifting keel had been raised, which would have made the yacht more unstable. 

The recovery of the mega yacht from a depth of 50 meters is likely to take a long time - experts estimate that it could take eight weeks. "The top priority is to retrieve the boat," said a public prosecutor at the press conference.

Last body only recovered after five days
The 56-meter luxury sailing yacht sank early Monday morning during a severe storm. A hurricane is said to have passed over the area. Within a very short time, the floating colossus disappeared at the bottom of the sea - 15 people were able to free themselves from the ship in time and were rescued. It was only after a five-day search that the last body was found in the ship's hull.