Several died when luxury yachts sank off Sicily • The captain remains silent in the hearings
Two weeks ago, the luxury yacht Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily.
Now the staff tells about the night of horror when the boat capsized.
– We walked the walls and saved everyone we could, says crewman Matthew Griffiths.
In the early morning of August 19, the luxury yacht Bayesian capsized off Palermo, Sicily after sailing into a storm.
The last images of the boat, which were captured by a surveillance camera, show how the boat sways and capsizes before finally disappearing below the surface.
22 people were on board the boat. Seven of them have been found dead, including British tech billionaire Mike Lynch.
Rescued one-year-old girl
Now the crew has been questioned by investigators. One of those questioned is 22-year-old Matthew Griffiths, who was a night watchman when the accident occurred.
– I woke the captain when the wind strength increased, and he gave the order to wake everyone on board, says Matthew Griffiths.
After that it went downhill fast. The ship capsized and began to take on water.
– We tried to save everyone we could, Cutfield saved a little girl and her mother.
Griffiths refers to the boat’s captain, James Cutfield, who rescued a one-year-old girl and her mother.
The captain is silent
Matthew Griffiths, James Cutfield and technician Tim Parker Eaton are suspected of causing another’s death and are being investigated by Italian authorities.
Cutfield has chosen to remain silent in the later hearings. According to his lawyer, he must have been tired after the incident and asked for more time to build a defense. In the past, he has given a testimony similar to Griffiths.
According to the prosecutor, the boat probably sank as a result of a very strong downward wind. However, marine experts who charted the course believe that the Bayesian sank faster than a ship of that magnitude should.