A British crew member of the doomed yacht Bayesian under investigation for manslaughter and causing a disaster has insisted all ‘doors and hatches were closed’ ahead of a violent storm.
Chief engineer Tim Parker Eaton, 56, has told prosecutors he followed procedures and made sure all was watertight as the storm engulfed the yacht causing it to sink with the loss of seven lives.
Among those who died in the tragedy on August 19 were British tech billionaire Mike Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, who was due to start a degree course at Oxford University later this month.
Mr Parker Eaton, originally from Clophill, Bedfordshire, is under investigation along with the Bayesian’s New Zealand captain James Cutfield, 51, and watchman Matthew Griffiths, who is British but lives in France.
The £30million yacht sank after being struck by freak weather as it anchored off the coast of the Italian island of Sicily at the village of Porticello near Palermo, leaving seven dead and 15 survivors.
Chief engineer Tim Parker Eaton, 56, has insisted all ‘doors and hatches were closed’ on the doomed Bayesian ahead of a violent storm
Mr Eaton is under investigation for manslaughter and has has told prosecutors he followed procedures and made sure all was watertight as the storm engulfed the yacht causing it to sink
The Bayesian’s New Zealand captain James Cutfield, 51, (pictured) is being investigated for shipwreck and manslaughter
The £30million yacht (pictured) sank after being struck by freak weather as it anchored off the coast of the Italian island of Sicily at the village of Porticello near Palermo, leaving seven dead and 15 survivors
Prosecutors at Termini Imerese near Palermo are investigating whether human error may have caused the disaster with claims that ‘portholes and hatches’ were left open which led to the ship being engulfed by water and sinking in just 16 minutes.
But according to excerpts from Mr Parker Eaton’s statement, leaked to the Italian media, he has insisted all doors and openings were shut.
He said: ‘I activated the generators and the hydraulic pump for the rudder.’
When asked crucially if all portholes and hatches, including where the yacht’s tender was kept, were closed he replied: ‘Everything was shut.
‘The only thing open was the hatch to the engine room which from my point of view would not have caused the disaster because it was at the other end from where the yacht went down.’
His statement comes after Mr Griffiths comments were also leaked. Although all three are under investigation, it does not mean that formal charges will follow – that will be up to an investigating magistrate once the file is closed.
Mr Griffiths, 22, had said: ‘I woke the captain up when the wind was 20knots. He gave orders to wake everyone else.
‘I then put away the cushions and plants, closed the windows of the bow lounge and some hatches.
CCTV captured the last moments of the Bayesian superyacht before it sank beneath the waves
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah both died in the Bayesian tragedy when the superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily
Judy and Jonathan Bloomer died on the Bayesian as it keeled over in the water
The bodies of Neda and Chris Morvillo, pictured in 2018, were also retrieved last week
Recaldo Thomas, chef on the Bayesian, was the first person to be recovered after the yacht sunk last Monday
The British-flagged Bayesian superyacht (pictured) was owned by tech magnate Mike Lynch
‘The ship tilted and we were thrown into the water. Then we managed to get back up and tried to rescue those we could.
‘We were walking on the side of the boat. We saved who we could, Cutfield also saved the little girl and her mother,’ he said referring to passenger Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter.
Griffiths said he ‘monitored the weather conditions all evening’ including wind that was coming in around 25mph, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.
‘I then immediately woke the captain who took charge of operations. He gave the order to wake the others’, the night watch said.
‘We managed to get back on board and tried to form a human chain to save those who made it to the deck’, Griffiths said.
He added that the captain was the first in the chain and he helped everyone.
Cutfield, the experienced 51-year-old New Zealand national, was one of 15 people who survived – nine of the 10 crew members and six of the 12 passengers.
Lynch, 59, had invited friends and family onto the boat to celebrate his recent acquittal in a huge US fraud case.
But the 56-metre (185-foot) yacht was struck by a storm as it was anchored off Porticello, near Palermo, and sank within minutes.
The bodies of Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and friends were recovered over the subsequent days in a major search operation.
Chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, who is heading the investigation, has said his team will consider each possible element of responsibility including those of the captain, the crew, individuals in charge of supervision and the yacht’s manufacturer.
Investigators are focusing on how a sailing vessel deemed ‘unsinkable’ by its manufacturer, Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.
Prosecutors said the event was ‘extremely rapid’ and could have been a ‘downburst’ – a localized, powerful wind that descends from a thunderstorm and spreads out rapidly on hitting the ground.
Cutfield exercised his right to remain silent when questioned by prosecutors on Tuesday, his lawyers said.
Mr Parker-Eaton, 56, from Bedfordshire, and fellow Briton Matthew Griffiths, 22, join Kiwi skipper James Cutfield (pictured) on the official list of those warned they are being formally investigated for shipwreck and multiple manslaughter
Chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio (right) is heading the investigation. He said his team will consider each possible element of responsibility including those of the captain, the crew, individuals in charge of supervision and the yacht’s manufacturer
They explained that he was ‘worn out’ and that they needed more time to build a defense case. Parker Eaton has not commented on the investigation.
Aldo Mordiglia, lawyer for Mr Cutfield, 51, told MailOnline he expected the complicated procedure of bringing the yacht to surface could ‘start in October possibly’ and that it would ‘be vital for the investigation the yacht was raised’.
According to maritime code it is up to the owner of the yacht to sort out salvaging the Bayesian, but the judicial authorities will also play a key part.
Experts also want to raise her as quickly as possible because there are fears over the 18,000 litres of fuel onboard and an environmental ship is circling the area ready to deploy protective booms to control any potential spillage.
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