Yacht disaster skipper being investigated for manslaughter

THE captain of the £30million yacht Bayesian which sank off Sicily leaving seven dead is being investigated for manslaughter and shipwreck.

- Robert Kellaway

James Cutfield was questioned for more than two hours after the deaths of tech tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, his daughter Hannah, 18, and five others.

Prosecuting magistrates, who spoke to the New Zealander for the second time in a week, said that he had been "extremely co-operative" in answering questions.

Investigators may also interview a crew member who was on watch and survived when the storm hit off Porticello, the Italian press reported.

In Italy being placed under investigation does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will follow.

Key crew members have stayed in Sicily voluntarily to help authorities.

Six passengers and chef Recaldo Thomas died when the British-flagged vessel capsized in a freak storm on August 19. The 184ft-long yacht, which had the world's tallest aluminium mast at 246ft, is thought to have been hit by a "downburst".