Italian prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said at a press conference on Saturday that “not entirely orderly behavior” may have led to the many deaths off the coast of Sicily.
Researchers will focus on “how much everyone [laive buvę] people were warned” about security procedures, the prosecutor explained, but added that all lines of investigation were being considered.
Firefighter Bentivoglio Fiandra revealed that when on August 19 4:38 a.m. the distress call was received, the yacht had already sunk and was lying on its starboard side approximately 50 m underwater. Therefore, the dead “tried to hide in the cabins on the left side of the ship,” he said.
He added that the divers first found the body of the cook on board near the ship. Then the rotating rescue team found five more people on the yacht – the first cabin on the port side and the last one in the third cabin on the same side.
Investigators plan to retrieve the wreckage from the seabed to determine the circumstances of the yacht’s capsize, the prosecutor added on Saturday.
The autopsies of the accident victims have not yet been performed, officials told the gathered media representatives.
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, was among seven people killed when the superyacht sank in the early hours of Monday morning.
Others included Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy, American lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda and yacht chef Recaldo Thomas.
Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah Lynch, was the last body recovered by divers on Friday. Her mother and Mr. Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, survived the crash. Their other daughter Esme was not on board and the family paid tribute to her sister in a statement.
The family is believed to have organized the trip to celebrate the end of Mr Lynch’s legal troubles.
July he was acquitted of 15 US fraud charges in a 12-year case involving the sale of his Autonomy company to US company Hewlett Packard in 2011. Prosecutors said he deliberately overstated the 1996 the value of the established company. Mr. Lynch has always denied wrongdoing.
Here are the highlights from the press conference:
The prosecutor confirmed that the body found yesterday was H. Lynch
Italian prosecutor A.Cartosio confirmed the names and surnames of the victims. The body of the yacht’s chef Recaldo Thomas was the first to be found, and it was immediately clear that finding any of the six missing people alive would be very difficult.
Four victims were found on August 21: Mr. Bloomer and his wife, Judy, and Ch. Morvillis and his Neda.
All of them were found by diving teams in the boat. Another victim, Mike Lynch, was pulled on August 22. August 23 the body of his daughter Hannah was found. The discovery of the last victim deeply moved the rescue team and caused a spontaneous ovation.
Initiated an investigation into the shipwreck for culpable homicide and manslaughter
Italian prosecutor A.Cartosio explained that the prosecution is currently investigating the so-called “criminal hypothesis” for the shipwreck and involuntary manslaughter, although nothing is currently being investigated specifically and it will take time.
He emphasized that the investigation is just beginning, so they are not ruling anything out at this time.
Intensive search operation
Speaking on behalf of the divers, one of the firefighters involved in the search and rescue operation said more divers had been called in and cameras had been installed to collect additional information.
Search and rescue personnel were also called in, and around 70 people were involved in the search and rescue operation each day, he added.
“All this illustrates the national dimension of the Italian fire service,” he said.
More than 120 dives were made, he said, adding that divers could stay in the water for only 12 minutes at a time.
“It was intensive work and very stressful,” he noted. “We were working at a depth of 50 meters, and due to the weather conditions, visibility was very low.”
Why was the crew able to board the lifeboat and the passengers not?
The first question asked by journalists at the press conference was how the crew could get into the lifeboat, but the passengers could not?
In response to this question, an Italian official said that the incident happened “very suddenly” and that the investigation would look into it closely.
“That’s all I can say at this point,” the official added.
Is there a “black box”?
Another question was posed by La Repubblica newspaper, one of whose reporters asked if there was a black box and why the hatches were left open.
“We don’t have exact information about the black box,” the official said. “It was very difficult to get into the cabins and into the yacht itself.”
He added that the first phase of the investigation will investigate this in more detail.
The official said they could not reveal anything more at this stage, but further searches of the wreckage – including whether divers found it open or closed – would confirm the facts.
“We don’t want to present false information now that we have to refute later,” he explained.
How long will it take to recover the wrecked ship?
In response to a question from the BBC, Raffaele Macauda, deputy commander of the Palermo Coast Guard, said the timing of the ship’s recovery from the seabed was uncertain and depended on many factors.
He stressed that although the shipowner has expressed interest in raising the vessel, he will first have to submit a technical plan for the raising of the vessel, which will outline how he intends to operate.
“I can’t say how long it will take before we can get the ship out,” he added. “Among other things, we will have to empty the yacht’s tanks to avoid environmental pollution.”
How long did it take for the rescuers to arrive?
The Italian authorities were also asked how long it was between the disaster and the rescue of the crew and how long it took for rescuers to arrive.
In response, one of the local officials said that the issue is the core of the investigation that will be conducted.
He added that it was “obvious” that the authorities would have to look more closely at the matter and compare what happened meteorologically and analyze how fast the ship was moving.
The ship’s master and crew do not have to stay in Italy
Prosecutor A.Cartosio confirmed that charges against one or more specific individuals may be filed long before Bayesian is recovered.
He also said that the ship’s captain and crew are not required to remain in Sicily for the duration of the investigation.
However, the chief prosecutor expressed the wish that they “remain ready for further questioning” as it may be necessary in the future as the investigation progresses.
It appears that the ship was not sunk by a tornado of water, but by a descending storm
Deputy Prosecutor Rafaelle Cammarano explained that almost all of the crew, except for the yacht’s chef, were able to escape to safety, but the passengers were not, most likely because the passengers were asleep at the time of the incident.
He also added that based on what they know now, it’s unlikely that the Bayesian drowned due to a water tornado, as previously suggested. According to him, it appears that the crash was caused by a descending storm.
A downwind storm is a localized, powerful wind that descends from a thunderstorm and spreads rapidly, usually unpredictably, when it hits the ground.
The diver described the rescue operation
One of the divers described the rescue operation from his perspective.
He recalled that the ship had sunk at a depth of 50 meters, which made it even more difficult to get into the cabins.
He spoke of all the obstacles that prevented them from getting on board, adding that all safety measures had to be properly followed so that the divers did not risk their own lives.
“It was extremely difficult and it was very slow, very slow work,” he said, explaining that “it took a very long time to clear the obstacles through the cabins.”
Why were the passengers left behind?
Local officials were also asked about the location of the bodies on the yacht, as most of the bodies were found in a certain part of the ship – does this mean that the passengers tried to save themselves?
“There is no certainty about the behavior of the passengers on board, but it is likely that they tried to save themselves, but we do not have any real information about that,” said a commission official.
He said some evidence should emerge from the wreckage search site.
Officials are also being asked why the passengers could not escape the ship at the same time as the crew and whether anyone warned them.
“Well, that’s what we’re trying to find out from the statements of the survivors,” one of the officials said.
Asked about the cost of the search, the Coast Guard admiral said all search costs would be borne by the owners, and he could not yet estimate how much it would cost.
A criminal investigation must be carefully considered
Chief Prosecutor A.Cartosio explained that it is likely that the aforementioned crimes (shipwreck due to culpability and multiple murder) could have been committed, but before charges are brought, it will be necessary to determine who may be responsible for it.
“The media works on a lightning-quick schedule, and a prosecutor’s schedule is longer because it has to be carefully considered,” he said.
His deputy R. Cammarano confirmed that one person was on duty in the cockpit at the time of the accident.
Prepared from Sky News and BBC info.
2024-08-25 15:33:30