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Italian newspapers report that the captain of a Lynch yacht faces an investigation

Italian media reported on Monday that Italian prosecutors had opened an investigation into James Cutfield, the captain of the British superyacht owned by British tech magnate Mike Lynch, which sank last week off Sicily, killing its owner as well as six other people.

The decision was not independently verified. It is not necessary to be charged with formal crimes if you are under investigation in Italy.

The newspapers La Repubblica e Corriere della sera reported that 51-year-old New Zealander Cutfield was being investigated for shipwreck and manslaughter.

Ambrogio Cartosio, head of the prosecutor's office in Termini Imerese said that despite the fact that the yacht was hit by an extremely sudden meteorological event it is plausible crimes of multiple murder and negligence causing a vessel to sink were committed.

The maritime law assigns a captain the full responsibility of the ship, the crew and the safety of everyone aboard.

Cutfield, his crew of eight and the remaining members have not yet made any public comments about the accident. Reporting by Giulia Segriti and Giselda Vasgnoni, Editing by Jamie Freed & Clarence Fernandez

(source: Reuters)