Italian prosecutors are currently investigating the captain of a yacht which sunk last week, resulting in seven deaths.
The Bayesian yacht sunk off the Sicilian coast on 19 August, resulting in the deaths of Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Jonathan and Judy Bloomer, Chris and Neda Morvillo and Recaldo Thomas.
There were a total of 22 passengers on the yacht, with 15 surviving the sinking including the vessel’s captain James Cutfield.
The 51-year-old New Zealand national was among the survivors and his lawyer confirmed that he was being investigated after prosecutors in Italy announced they had opened an investigation into the possibility of manslaughter.
Aldo Mordiglia, one of two legal representatives appointed to defend the vessel’s captain, said that Cutfield had already been questioned and would be questioned once again by prosecutors today (27 August).
Prosecutors have said they are investigating the yacht’s captain, though an investigation doesn’t mean guilt. (ALESSANDRO FUCARINI/AFP via Getty Images)
According to The Guardian, Giovanni Rizzuti is another lawyer appointed to defend Cutfield and said: “Our client is deeply affected by this ordeal.
“We are currently assessing, with other legal representatives, the defence strategy and examining the technical aspects of the case.”
Under Italian law, being under investigation does not imply guilt and doesn’t mean that charges will follow – there may be more people who are also under investigation.
The Termini Imerese Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment when approached by LADbible on Monday (26 August).
Italian prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio announced on Saturday (24 August) that an investigation had been launched and would consider how responsible many parties were for the sinking of the yacht.
All seven bodies have been recovered, but investigators would also like to recover the wreck of the yacht. (ALESSANDRO FUCARINI/AFP via Getty Images)
That included the captain, the crew and the yacht’s manufacturer, as investigators are also looking into how a vessel that was deemed ‘unsinkable’ went down when a nearby sailing boat did not.
Prosecutors have said that the sinking of the Bayesian yacht was ‘extremely rapid’ and could have been caused by a ‘downburst’, where powerful wind from a thunderstorm that occurs when the air races downward from an overhead cloud.
They believe that the locations of the bodies recovered from the yacht can point towards what happened as well.
Officials also want to recover the wreckage of the yacht so they can fully investigate the vessel’s sinking.
At present, the Bayesian is 50 metres underwater in the bay of the Sicilian town of Porticello.
“It’s in the interests of the owners and managers of the ship to salvage it,” prosecutor Cartosio said, adding that ‘they have assured their full cooperation’.
The Guardian also reports that work on recovering the Bayesian from beneath the bay is not expected to start until October.
Featured Image Credit: James Cutfield / ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Bayesian yacht, World News, UK News
Two bodies have been found in the search for missing passengers after a superyacht sank.
The luxury boat capsized off the coast of Sicily on Monday (19 August).
Head of Sicily’s civil protection agency, Salvatore Cocina, confirmed to the BBC this afternoon that two bodies had been found.
Carrying 22 passengers and crew, the Bayesian superyacht sank at around 5am local time with CCTV footage showing how it ‘vanished in 60 seconds’.
According to ship-tracking site VesselFinder, the boat had been calling at various points of the Italian island before the tragedy.
Rescuers managed to save 15 passengers with the help of a heroic captain but as of this morning, six people are still missing.
This includes UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch, bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy, law firm partner Chris Morvillo and his jewellery designer wife Neda Morvillo.
It was also reported earlier today that the rescue services were aiming to get into the ship’s cabin where it is thought the passengers may have been sleeping, as per the BBC.
Hours after the sinking on Monday, the body of chef Recaldo Thomas was recovered nearby. The Canadian-Antiguan was described as well-loved and kind with a ‘smile that lit up the room’.
Bloomer’s twin brother, Jeremy, said he hadn’t given up hope on finding him as he theorised there might be air pockets possibly keeping him alive.
Teams have been searching for passengers since the boat sank on Monday. ( ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
He told the BBC that his family is ‘coping the best they can’, adding: “It’s a slow process and it will take time.
“So there might be air pockets, but we don’t know. He was my older [brother] by half an hour. So it means a lot when you lose a twin brother.
“It’s still wait and see, so fingers crossed.”
Jeremy also described the ‘terrible’ situation as something ‘beyond your wildest imagination’, before adding: “I’m just numb, just numb.
“That’s it, you don’t know what to think and you can’t believe it’s happened.”
Experts have suggested that air pockets could in fact have formed as the yacht sank so quickly.
22 people were aboard the Bayesian including 10 crew. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
Vincenzo Zagarola of the Italian Coastguard previously said that the six missing tourists were feared dead.
When asked about the likelihood of them being alive, he said to ‘never say never’ but ‘reasonably the answer should be not’.
He told PA news agency: “We think they are still inside the boat, that is our very hard idea.
“Of course, we do not exclude that they are not inside the boat, but we know the boat sank quickly.
“We suppose that the six people missing may not have had time to get out of the boat.”
Featured Image Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images/PERINI NAVI PRESS OFFICE
Topics: World News, Bayesian yacht
An Italian prosecutor has said that a manslaughter investigation has been opened into the deaths of seven people after the sinking of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily.
The Bayesian superyacht sank on Monday (19 August) with one person found dead at the scene and six more recovered from the sea in the following days.
In a press conference today, prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said that his office had opened the manslaughter investigation.
He said that ‘behaviours that were not perfectly in order’ might have been the reason why seven people died in the sinking of the yacht, but added that all possible lines of inquiry were being considered.
There were a total of 22 people on board the yacht, and 15 of them were able to survive by making it to a lifeboat.
Seven bodies were recovered from the sinking, and prosecutors are looking at the potential of manslaughter. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
When the Bayesian yacht sank the body of chef Recaldo Thomas was found at the scene, and the bodies of British billionaire Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were also recovered.
According to a translation, the prosecutor said they were conducting an investigation against unknown persons.
A spokesperson for the Lynch family said: “The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends.
“Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue.
“Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief.”
The superyacht had been about half a mile off the coast of the Sicilian town of Porticello when it went down.
A total of seven bodies were recovered and the authorities are investigating potential manslaughter. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
Italian Coastguard member Vincenzo Zagarola said that searching for the bodies had not been ‘easy or quick’ as exploring the wreckage of the yacht was like going through an ’18-storey building full of water’.
Hannah Lynch’s sister Esme offered her own tribute to the 18-year-old who died, saying: “Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me.
“Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice. No matter what, she brought boundless love to me.
“She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me.
“And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals.
“She is my little angel, my star.”
Featured Image Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images/ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Bayesian yacht, UK News, World News, Crime
Holidaymakers were left horrified after they heard screams of terror from an airport worker as he was crushed to death by a glass elevator.
Wisatrat Tangsoh, 22, was carrying out maintenance work on the lift in Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, when tragedy struck on Tuesday (13 August) afternoon.
According to reports, the mechanic had been working in the elevator shaft and was trying to retrieve a wrench from the base of it when the two-tonne glass lift slowly began descending towards him.
Tangsoh is believed to have become trapped underneath the elevator with no way of escaping.
Passengers who were in the departures terminal in the major international airport heard the workman’s terrifying screams as he was crushed, while his colleagues quickly secured the area and headed to get help.
Wisatrat Tangsoh was horrifically crushed by the elevator (Asia Pacific Press via ViralPress)
Sadly, Tangsoh was found on the concrete base of the lift shaft by his workmates from the Asian Elevator Co. Ltd.
The 22-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene by medics who had rushed to help him.
He had suffered a catastrophic head injury after being crushed by the weighty elevator.
The area was cordoned off from the public while Tangsoh’s body was transferred to the Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute for a post-mortem examination.
In wake of the incident, airport bosses have alleged that the mechanic did not follow safety guidelines while he was carrying out work on the elevator.
The Suvarnabhumi International Airport said in a statement: “From the preliminary investigation, it was found that the deceased did not follow safety procedures, which resulted in the accident causing his death.
“Airports of Thailand (AOT) have coordinated with medics and police to inspect the scene with forensics experts. AOT has temporarily blocked off the area.
“We would like to confirm that the accident was not caused by a malfunction of the elevator in the area.
The mechanic is believed to have been trying to retrieve a wrench (Asia Pacific Press via ViralPress)
“The AOT would like to express its condolences to the family of the deceased. “We will fully cooperate in the investigation to find the cause of the accident.”
Airports of Thailand – the public company which manages ten international airports in the country, including Suvarnabhumi – had a market capitalisation of $31 billion in 2018, making it the world’s richest airport operator, as per The Mirror.
It has just approved a five-year plan to invest a significant amount of money into the travel hub, however, the state-run firm’s health and safety procedures have previously been called into question.
In September last year, a passenger lost their leg after it was amputated by a travelator at Suvarnabhumi’s sister facility in Bangkok, the Don Mueang International Airport.
According to ABC News, Karant, the airport director, said that AOT would be taking care of the 57-year-old’s medical bills and provide compensation.
He also added that the incident was under investigation, however, he defended the airport’s maintenance and checkups.
Featured Image Credit: Asia Pacific Press via ViralPress/Getty Stock Images
Topics: World News, News, Travel
A man has been found guilty of manslaughter after a death at his ‘slapping therapy’ workshop.
Hongchi Xiao from California, US, has today been convicted of the manslaughter by gross negligence of Danielle Carr-Gomm, who died at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire in October 2016.
The alternative healer failed to get help for the 71-year-old diabetic women who stopped taking insulin during his Paida Lajin therapy event.
She was taking part in the event which sees patients being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly when she was left ‘howling in pain’.
Hongchi Xiao has already been prosecuted over the death of a 6-year-old. (Crown Prosecution Service Handout)
The woman from East Sussex had first joined one of the Paida Lajin workshops (meaning ‘slap and stretch’), ran by Xiao in Bulgaria in July 2016.
The court heard how Carr-Gomm had sought alternatives to her insulin medication for type 1 diabetes because of her vegetarianism and fear of needles.
She became seriously ill after stopping it before restarting and subsequently recovering.
When she attended the Wiltshire workshop, Xiao said ‘well done’ to her after telling the group she had stopped taking her insulin at the week-long retreat, and she became seriously ill, the court heard.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said that by the third day ‘she was vomiting, tired and weak, and by the evening she was howling in pain and unable to respond to questions’.
A chef at the workshop, Teresa Hayes, told jurors the woman was ‘delirious’ and ‘frothing at the mouth’ before she died, adding that she wanted to call an ambulance but trusted those with more experience of the holistic healing method.
Atkinson added how Xiao failed to get medical help for Carr-Gomm before she died in the early hours of the fourth day.
Danielle Carr-Gomm died at the workshop. (Wiltshire Police)
He said: “Those who had received and accepted the defendant’s teachings misinterpreted Mrs Carr-Gomm’s condition as a healing crisis.”
The prosecutor described how Xiao had been an ‘exponent’ of Paida Lajin for 10 years and had written a book on it.
“It is said to be a method of self-healing in which ‘poisonous waste’ is expelled from the body through patting and slapping parts of the body,” he said.
“He does not have medical qualifications or training.”
Giving evidence, Xiao said: “First of all, I said I’m not a medical doctor, so everyone is responsible for their own medication.
“Secondly, I’m not fully against medicine, what I’m concerned about is the side effect of the medicine.”
Following the verdict, head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Rosemary Ainslie said: “Hongchi Xiao knew the consequences of Danielle Carr-Gomm’s decision to stop taking insulin could be fatal, he had seen it before.
“Hongchi Xiao was the man in charge, yet he failed to respond to Mrs Carr-Gomm’s worsening condition with tragic consequences.
“His failure to take reasonable steps to help Mrs Carr-Gomm substantially contributed to her death and amounted to gross negligence.”
For this trial, Xiao was extradited from Australia, where he had previously been prosecuted over the death of a six-year-old boy, who also died after his parents withdrew his insulin medication after attending one of his workshops in Sydney.
He will be sentenced on 1 October.
Featured Image Credit: Crown Prosecution Service Handout/Wiltshire Police