Seven victims of a boat sinking in Sicily were trapped in a cabin | International

Investigators are trying to explain how the luxury sailboat sank Bayesian He believes that the seven victims of the tragedy were surprised “by a sudden and unexpected event” while asleep and suddenly woke up and tried to escape, but were trapped inside the ship.

Ambrogio Cartosio, the Italian prosecutor handling the case, held a press conference this Saturday morning, attended by the deputy prosecutor and representatives of the fire department and navy who have collaborated in the search and rescue efforts. During the conference he presented some details of the investigation, although most of these have been kept under summary confidentiality.

Cartosio reported that the body of Hannah Lynch, the last of the missing, was found in the third cabin on the left side of the boat. The bodies of the other five deceased were found in the first cabin, also on the port side. Taking into account that, as the survivors have reported, their rooms were not on that side of the ship, investigators believe it is most likely that the deceased were trying to escape from the water entering the ship. The boat sank at the stern and then slowly lay on its right side, as noted by Bentivoglio Fiandra, the provincial commander of the firefighters. The six victims tried to take refuge in the cabins on the left side in search of air bubbles to breathe. Prosecutors said they were “probably” unable to reach the deck and therefore the lifeboat in time “because they were caught in the storm while sleeping.”

Investigators will have to clarify this dynamic and determine whether safety rules and protocols were respected, and details such as whether passengers were warned about the danger of the storm and what measures should have been taken in the event of an accident. To clarify more precisely what happened, Cartosio believes it is “essential” BayesianWhich is located at a depth of 50 meters on the sea floor. He said, “If we do not recover it and do not examine it carefully, it will be difficult for us to establish possible responsibilities for what happened.”

Prosecutors believe there is enough evidence to prove negligence in the ship accident. BayesianBoth before the sailboat was submerged and during the sinking phase of the ship. But they have not yet identified the possible person or persons responsible, so they still have no official suspects. Everything will depend on the analysis of the data provided by the investigation and the study of the wreckage on the surface.

As prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio pointed out, responsibility could fall on the ship’s captain, the crew or even the ship’s owner. “This tragedy will be even more painful if it is proven that it was caused by behavior that does not correspond at all to the responsibility of each person in the management of navigation,” Cartosio said. The prosecutor added that investigators “do not exclude anything.” As he explained, possible charges will depend on the study of the sunken sailboat and other technical and meteorological data and statements.

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Free to leave Italy

The magistrate also highlighted that the captain, James Catfield from New Zealand, and nine of the ten crew members who survived the shipwreck have been “very cooperative” and that he hopes they will continue to be so, as he has more questions for them. However, prosecutors stressed that, for the time being, they are free to leave Italy whenever they want.

A relevant fact that remains unknown so far is that, as explained by the deputy prosecutor coordinating the investigation, Raffaele Cammarano, there was an officer on duty on the bridge on the night of the storm whose job was to warn of sudden bad weather, although it is not stated which crew member had that task. “I wonder why he did not see the storm coming. We are also investigating why the crew saved themselves by getting into the lifeboats, while the other guests were still on the boat. What we do know is that the incident was really sudden and unexpected,” Cammarano said.

Despite press criticism for the lack of information from the Italian authorities about the emergency operation, prosecutor Cartosio and his team had remained silent until now. The prosecutor explained that “the law only allows judicial authorities to disclose information through press conferences or press releases.” And he reiterated that their investigation reveals crimes of wrongful shipwreck and multiple wrongful killings.

He Bayesian The ship – a luxurious ship measuring 56 meters long and 11 meters wide and flying the British flag – was at maximum capacity, with 22 people on board, of whom 10 were crew members and 12 passengers. The sea engulfed it during a strong storm off the coast of the Sicilian town of Porticello early Monday morning. 15 people managed to escape the shipwreck and seven died. The victims of the shipwreck are British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah; banker and non-executive chairman of Morgan Stanley International, Jonathan Bloomer; his wife, Judy; Lynch’s lawyer, Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda. In addition, the body of the ship’s cook, Rekaldo Thomas, was recovered by firefighters a few hours after the sinking.

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