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Lynch and six other people were killed when the British-flagged
Bayesian, a 56-metre-long (184-foot) yacht, capsized and went
down on Aug. 19 within minutes of being hit by a pre-dawn storm
while anchored off northern Sicily.
On Monday, the boat's 51-year-old captain James Cutfield, a New
Zealander, was put under investigation for manslaughter and
shipwreck. Cutfield declined to respond to prosecutors during
questioning on Tuesday.
Ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith are
being investigated over the same crimes, the source said, adding
that Parker Eaton is suspected of having failed to protect the
yacht's engine room and operating systems.
Griffith was on watch duty on the night of the incident, the
source said.
Being investigated does not imply guilt and does not mean formal
charges will follow.
The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts, who said a vessel
like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer
Perini, should have withstood the storm and, in any case, should
not have sunk as quickly as it did.
Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, near Palermo, have
said their investigation would take time, and would require the
wreck to be salvaged from the sea. The Bayesian is lying on its
right side, at a depth of around 50 meters (164 feet).
(Reporting by Wladimiro Pantaleone, writing by Cristina
Carlevaro, editing by Alvise Armellini and Bernadette Baum)
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