Police investigate whether a crime occurred in the sinking of a millionaire’s yacht

ROME (AP) — An Italian prosecutor’s office said Monday it has opened an investigation into culpable shipwreck and multiple manslaughter after a superyacht sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily, killing seven people on board — including British technology magnate Mike Lynch and his daughter.

The prosecutor of Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Cartosio, confirmed that an investigation had begun, but stressed that no suspect had yet been identified.

“We are only at the initial stage of the investigation. At this point, we cannot exclude any kind of incident,” he said at a press conference.

Cartosio said his team will carefully consider every possible element of liability, including those of the ship’s captain, crew, those in charge of oversight, the ship’s builder and others.

“I think it’s likely that crimes were committed, that it’s a case of manslaughter, but we’ll only be able to establish that if we’re given time to investigate,” he added.

The main question investigators are focusing on is how a boat considered “unsinkable” by its manufacturer, the Perini Navi shipyard, sank, when a sailboat that was near the superyacht was virtually undamaged.

The prosecution said the event was “extremely fast” and that the information obtained would point to a “downdraft,” a strong gust of wind that descends from a storm and spreads rapidly when it reaches land.

Civil protection authorities initially believed that the luxury yacht, which had a distinctive 75-metre-high aluminium mast, had been hit by a waterspout.

At a glance

The bodies

Local authorities confirmed that most of the recovered bodies were found in the same part of the ship — on the left side and close to the surface — indicating that passengers took refuge in the cabins, where the last air bubbles formed.

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