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Captain of sunken Lynch household private yacht decreases to answer detectives' questions

The captain of the high-end private yacht owned by the household of British tech mogul Mike Lynch that sank off Sicily last week declined to react to prosecutors during questioning on Tuesday, among his attorneys stated.

James Cutfield, a 51-year old New Zealand nationwide, was put under investigation on Monday by Italian prosecutors.

The captain exercised his right to stay quiet for two fundamental factors, legal representative Giovanni Rizzuti informed press reporters.

First, he's really broken. Second, we were selected just on Monday and for a thorough and appropriate defence case we need to obtain a set of data that at the minute we do not have.

Lynch and 6 other individuals were killed when the British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long (184-foot) yacht, capsized and sank on Aug. 19 within minutes of being hit by a. pre-dawn storm while anchored off northern Sicily.

Being placed under investigation in Italy does not indicate. guilt and does not suggest formal charges will necessarily follow. It is still uncertain whether other team members or other individuals. will also be positioned under examination.

District attorneys said their examination would take some time, and. would require the wreck to be salvaged from the sea. The. Bayesian is currently pushing its ideal side, at a depth of. around 50 metres.

The coastguard is performing activities to keep an eye on the. ecological conditions in the location where the yacht sank, it. said in a statement on Tuesday.

At the moment we don't sign up any leaks from tanks and. there are no traces of oil contamination, it said.

(source: Reuters)