The captain of Mike Lynch’s yacht, James Cutfield has flown out of Palermo, 10 days after the British tech tycoon and six other people were killed when the vessel sank off the coast of Sicily.
James Cutfield left the Sicilian capital on a private jet, according to an investigative source.
Cutfield, a New Zealander, lives with his wife in Palma on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
Cutfield was put under investigation for “manslaughter and shipwreck” earlier this week and declined to answer questions from prosecutors on Tuesday.
Two other crew members have been placed under investigation.
Being investigated does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will follow.
Those facing investigation have no obligation to stay in Italy but have to nominate lawyers so that the authorities have a way of remaining in contact with them.
The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) yacht, overturned and sank on August 19 minutes after being battered by a pre-dawn storm while anchored off northern Sicily.
The sinking has perplexed naval marine specialists, who believe a vessel like the Bayesian, manufactured by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have weathered the storm and, in any event, not sunk as swiftly as it did.
