Investigation Into Yacht That Sank Off Sicily Broadens

Prosecutors in Sicily have broadened their investigation into the sinking of the luxury yacht, the Bayesian, and are now looking into the actions of two more crew members, their lawyer said Thursday.

The captain of the yacht, James Cutfield, is also facing a manslaughter inquiry to determine whether his actions negligently caused the shipwreck, one of his lawyers said Tuesday.

Seven people — six passengers and one crew member — died in the Aug. 19 accident amid a pre-dawn storm off the coast of Sicily. Among the victims was the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, whose family owned the Bayesian, as well as his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.

On Wednesday, prosecutors placed under investigation Tim Parker Eaton, who was in charge of the Bayesian’s engine room, and Matthew Griffiths, the crew member who was on lookout duty that night. They are both represented by Marco Scopesi, a lawyer based in Genoa, who confirmed that the two men were under investigation.

In Italy, placing someone under formal investigation does not necessarily mean criminal charges will follow.

The cruise was to celebrate Mr. Lynch’s acquittal in June on charges that he had led one of the biggest frauds in the technology industry by vastly inflating the value of a company he had founded when he had sold it to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011. This summer, he had scheduled several cruises to thank the lawyers who had helped him win the case.

Prosecutors in the Sicilian town of Termini Imerese are looking into what caused the 183-foot sailboat — described by the company that owns the ship maker as “unsinkable” — to suddenly capsize and sink to a depth of 165 feet. There had been 22 people on board the Bayesian when it sank, 10 crew members and 12 guests. After the shipwreck, the 15 people who escaped had been transferred to a hotel in the nearby town of Santa Flavia, where journalists were kept at bay.

Last weekend, the six passengers who had survived the shipwreck left the hotel. This week, the nine crew members, including those under investigation, left the hotel and Italy, according to two people familiar with the situation not authorized to speak about it publicly. The crew members had not been prohibited from leaving Italy.

Prosecutors interrogated Captain Cutfield on Tuesday, but he asserted his right to remain silent. Giovanni Rizzuti, one of his lawyers, told Italian media that his client was very “distressed.” Mr. Ruzzuti also said that as he had only taken the case on Monday, he needed time to come up with a “thorough, complete and correct” line of defense, and go through the elements of the case, he said. Captain Cutfield left Sicily on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the case.

In Italy, placing someone under investigation means that they can have a lawyer present when non-repeatable examinations, like autopsies, are carried out.

Mr. Scopesi said that like the captain of the Bayesian, his clients were under investigation on charges of manslaughter and causing a shipwreck, “in a very general way, the prosecution hasn’t focused on anything specifically,” he said.

“We’re still at the beginning” of the investigation, he said.

Emma Bubola contributed reporting.