Watchman woke captain ahead of Sicily yacht sinking: reports

ROME: The sailor on duty the night a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily last month, killing seven people, had sounded an alarm and woke the captain, Italian press reported on Sunday.

Prosecutors on the Italian island have been investigating possible shipwreck and manslaughter charges after the Bayesian sank in a pre-dawn storm on August 19, killing British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others.

“I monitored the weather conditions all evening” including wind that was coming in around 40-kms per hour (25 mph), Matthew Griffiths was quoted by news agency Ansa, which did not provide a source.

“I then immediately woke the captain who took charge of operations. He gave the order to wake the others,” he said.

Captain James Cutfield, a 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.

He has been the focus of the investigation along with engineer Tim Parker Eaton, who was in charge of the engine room that night, and Griffith, the crewman on lookout.

Cutfield confirmed he was woken by the lookout and had ordered “to inform the others because I didn´t like the situation”, he was quoted saying the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

The crew said the vessel then suddenly tilted and several crew members found themselves at sea.

“We managed to get back on board and tried to form a human chain to save those who made it to the deck,” Griffith said.