Italian prosecutors not ruling out manslaughter in superyacht investigation

Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Authorities in Italy said Saturday they are not ruling out the possibility of filing manslaughter charges stemming from the sinking of a superyacht off the coast of Sicily on Monday, killing seven people.

Termini Imerese prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio told reporters the probe will look at the behavior of the crew on the 184-foot vessel but is not currently aimed at any one individual.

"There are many possibilities for culpability. It could be just the captain. It could be the whole crew. It could be the guard. We are evaluating all of the factors to see whose behavior fault can be assigned to," Cartosio said during a news conference Saturday.

Cartosio said officials acknowledge weather caused the ship to sink but the crew's actions during the surprise storm are worthy of investigation.

"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 told reporters.

The Italian Coast Guard on Friday pulled the seventh and final body from the sea off Sicily, after the sinking of the luxury yacht Bayesian, owned by British millionaire Mike Lynch.

Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, and five others were killed when the yacht sank.

Divers worked for days to recover the bodies in 160 feet of water. Five of the seven were found in one of the boat's cabins.

Lynch's wife Angela Bacares and 14 other guests, including a 1-year-old girl, managed to escape aboard a life raft and were later rescued by other vessels nearby.

Prosecutors on Saturday confirmed any investigation would need to involve salvaging the luxury superyacht from the seabed for analysis.

"It [the sinking] was a sudden and abrupt event. We must wait for the recovery of the ship," deputy prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano told reporters.

The incident has garnered international attention.

Lynch was a tech guru and co-founder of software firms Autonomy and Darktrace. He also founded tech venture capital firm Invoke Capital.