Potential homicide being investigated in Sicily yacht disaster

An investigation into potential manslaughter has been launched after a luxury yacht sunk off the coast of Sicily.

On August 19, a superyacht called the Bayesian sunk off the coast of Sicily after it was hit by a 'violent' storm.

A total of 22 people were onboard the ship - including British tech mogul Mike Lynch - 15 who made it onto a life raft and were picked up, seven left unaccounted for until their bodies were later recovered by a search team of divers in the following days.

An investigation was immediately launched into how the 184-foot yacht managed to sink, terrifying CCTV footage showing the moment it was battered by rain and ended up going down in a matter of moments.

Stephen Richter, of SAR Marine Consulting, told NBC: "I can’t remember the last time I read about a vessel going down quickly like that, you know, completely capsizing and going down that quickly, a vessel of that nature, a yacht of that size."

CEO of the Italian Sea Group - which owns the company who built the yacht - Giovanni Costantino, called the vessel 'unsinkable' and 'one of the safest boats in the world,' as per the Independent.

The chief of the Coast Guard said, as quoted by The Telegraph, the captain of the yacht should've been aware of the incoming storm. He said: "They are vessels that can monitor these events and one would have thought the captain had taken precautions."

However, coast guard rear admiral Raffaele Macauda said: "This was an abnormal meteorological condition, and as you can see from the internet there was forecasts from midnight to 4am, winds of a strength of five from the north-west and the west and a storm alert. But there wasn’t an alert of a tornado."

And it's since been revealed the investigation is looking into the possibility of manslaughter.

A total of 22 people were on board the luxury yacht (Vincenzo Pepe/Getty Images)

The public prosecutor of Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Cartosio said there 'could be a question of manslaughter' within the investigation into how the ship sank.

He said it's since been revealed there were 'behaviors that were not perfectly in order' which could've led to the deaths of seven people onboard the luxury vessel, however, he noted that other lines of enquiry have not been excluded.

Cartosio added: "This is just, in fact, the beginning of an inquiry".

Investigations into why the Bayesian sank continue, led by Italian officials and the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

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