A member of the crew that survived the Bayesian super yacht sinking – which took the lives of British tech billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah – has said staff “saved who they could” before the vessel sunk.
In total, seven of the 22 people onboard the boat died when the Bayesian plunged to the bottom of the sea.
Crew member Matthew Griffiths, 22, has now spoken out following the horrific episode, including a heartbreaking five-word statement: “We saved who we could.”
Griffiths, who was on watch duty the night of the incident, the boat’s captain James Cutfield, and ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton, are now being investigated by Italian authorities for manslaughter and shipwreck. This does not imply guilt or indicate that formal charges will follow.
Griffiths told Italian news agency Ansa: “I woke up the captain when the wind was at 20 knots (23 mph). He gave orders to wake everyone else. The ship tilted and we were thrown into the water.
“Then we managed to get back up and tried to rescue those we could,’ he added, describing the events of the fateful night, when the Bayesian had been anchored off the Sicilian port.”
“We were walking on the walls (of the boat). We saved who we could, Cutfield also saved the little girl and her mother,” he added, referring to passenger Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter.
The Bayesian’s captain, Cutfield, exercised his right to remain silent when he was questioned by police, according to his legal team. This was because he was “worn out” and required more time to construct his defence.
Meanwhile, Parker Eaton is yet to comment on the investigation.
This comes after Prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano suggested last week that the Bayesian was likely struck by a “downburst” – an intense downward wind.
However the speed that ship sank at has left naval marine experts at a loss.
It is understood that the yacht, constructed by Italian luxury manufacturer Perini, shouldn’t have succumbed to the storm and should not have sunk as quickly as it did.
With the wreckage yet to be pulled from the water, prosecutors in Termini Imerese, near Palermo, said their investigation would take time.