Bayesian shipwreck, for the prosecutor it was a sudden and abrupt event. "Further investigations needed"

The first press conference of the public prosecutor's office of Termini Imerese, the one from which light was expected to be shed on the dynamics of the sinking of the 56-metre Perini Bayesian sailing ship (7 dead including the owner, British tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, and 15 survivors) near the Palermo coast, did not provide much in the way of answers. For now, there are no suspects, there is only an open investigation file against unknown persons for culpable shipwreck and multiple culpable homicide. Magistrates and the Harbour Master's Office are 'studying and evaluating' and it will take more investigations to find out whether the side door was open, whether other water gates were left open, whether there is a black box. Although it is a foregone conclusion that the divers have already acquired useful elements, as the deputy prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano let slip that 'there will be no statements on what the divers saw at the moment'.

It seems that the bridge guard was on duty that night, but it is not explained why he did not see the storm coming. "It must be established to whom the offences that were probably committed are attributable, whether to the captain, the entire crew or the ship's builders," added Chief Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio.

The news is that on the evening of Sunday 18 August 'there was no gale warning', as the commander of the Palermo harbour office, Raffaele Macauda, pointed out, specifying that there was therefore no prohibition to stay at anchor (the yacht sank at 4am on Monday morning). The whirlwind was 'sudden and abrupt'. The boat was at anchor and with its sails furled and sank from astern, the prosecutor's office clarified.

The wreck will be salvaged, explained the Coast Guard (and a number of names may be entered in the register of suspects before the wreck is recovered, clarified the Public Prosecutor's Office), and the owner - i.e. Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, who miraculously saved herself and who administers the company in whose name the yacht with a market value of around 30 million euro is registered - has already given her willingness to do so. The salvage, to be carried out following a project to be presented by the owner, is not complicated, according to what the wreck salvage experts explained to Il Sole 24 Ore, and will be done with the help of 'balloons'. Before recovery, the ship's tanks, which contain 18,000 litres of diesel, will have to be emptied.

'We feel close to the families of the victims and it would be even more painful if this terrible bereavement had been caused by improper behaviour in the management of shipping,' Cartosio added. The chief prosecutor then accused the Cartabia law of hindering free information: 'It is fair to say that in Italy it is forbidden for the public prosecutor to make statements except through press releases and press conferences. The law creates significant obstacles to the activity of free information, which is why I have not been able to say anything so far'.