Captain of sunken Lynch family yacht declines to answer investigators' questions
PALERMO, Italy, Aug 27 (Reuters) -The captain of the luxury yacht owned by the family of British tech magnate Mike Lynch that sank off Sicily last week declined to respond to prosecutors during questioning on Tuesday, one of his lawyers said.
James Cutfield, a 51-year old New Zealand national, was put under investigation on Monday by Italian prosecutors.
"The captain exercised his right to remain silent for two fundamental reasons," lawyer Giovanni Rizzuti told reporters.
"First, he's very worn out. Second, we were appointed only on Monday and for a thorough and correct defence case we need to acquire a set of data that at the moment we don't have."
Lynch and six other people were killed when the British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long (184-foot) yacht, capsized and sank on Aug. 19 within minutes of being hit by a pre-dawn storm while anchored off northern Sicily.
Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will necessarily follow. It is still unclear whether other crew members or other people will also be placed under investigation.
Prosecutors said their investigation would take time, and would require the wreck to be salvaged from the sea. The Bayesian is currently lying on its right side, at a depth of around 50 metres.
The coastguard is conducting activities to monitor the environmental conditions in the area where the yacht sank, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
"At the moment we don't register any leaks from tanks and there are no traces of oil pollution," it said.
Reporting by Wladimiro Pantaleone, writing by Alberto Chiumento,
Editing by Keith Weir
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.