A manslaughter probe into the Captain of Mike Lynch's superyacht is believed to have be opened amid the deaths of seven people, Italian media reports.
Last week, seven bodies - including tech tycoon Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah - were found after the Bayesian superyacht sank.
Captain James Cutfield is now being investigated for manslaughter and shipwreck, according to the dailies La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera.
The New Zealand national was spoken to by Magistrates on Sunday - the second time this week, la Repubblica reports.
A manslaughter probe into the Captain of Mike Lynch's superyacht is believed to have be opened amid the deaths of seven people, Italian media reportsGettyThe superyacht was carrying 22 people when it capsized and sank last Monday within minutes.
While anchored off northern Sicily, a pre-dawn storm hit.
Chief Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said the victims would have been asleep when the freak weather struck
On Saturday, Ambrogio Cartosio, the head of the public prosecutor’s office of Termini Imerese said it was plausible that crimes of multiple manslaughter and causing a shipwreck through negligence had been committed.
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Another crew member may also be investigated by prosecutors.
In Italy being placed under investigation does not suggest guilt - and does not mean formal charges will always follow.
The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht, was recovered at the scene last Monday.
Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were also recovered from the wreckage.
Bodies of Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah were recovered from sunken superyacht
Getty/Perini Navi Press Office/ReutersOf the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat.
The prosecutor's office added that the investigation of a "crime hypothesis" is at its early stages.
He said that his office has opened an initial investigation into manslaughter.
