The captain of the Bayesian yacht that sunk off the coast of Sicily earlier this month is staying silent for now as a manslaughter investigation is launched into the tragedy.
James Cutfield, 51, is being investigated for manslaughter after the vessel sunk, leading to the death of seven people.
Among them was the owner of the yacht, British businessman Mike Lynch, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Mr Cutfield insists he did everything he could to save the people onboard, sources close to him have said.
He and his crew are under investigation, but the probe does not mean formal charges will be brought against any of them.
Tim Parker-Eaton, from Clophill, Beds, and sailor Matthew Griffith, 22, are also under investigation.
Mr Cutfield’s brother, Mark, told the New Zealand Herald that his brother is recovering in hospital.
He added that James is a “very good sailor.”
Italian law dictates that the welfare of passengers is the responsibility of the captain of the vessel.
Mr Cutfield’s lawyer has said there are two reasons why his client has yet to break his silence on the investigation.
He told The Times: “There were two reasons. He is understandably very shaken up, and secondly, us lawyers were only appointed yesterday and we need to acquire information we do not have in order to defend him.”
Chief Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio has said there may have been “behaviours that were not perfectly in order with regard to the responsibility everybody had.”
He promised to “discover how much they knew and to what extent all the people (passengers) were warned.”
Mr Cartosio added: “There could be in fact the question of homicide. But this is the beginning of the inquiry, we cannot exclude anything at all…We will establish each element’s (crew) responsibility.
“For me, it is probable that offences were committed — that it could be a case of manslaughter.”
