Heartbreaking five-word statement from Bayesian yacht crew member | World | News

A member of the crew who survived the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht – which also killed British tech billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah – said staff “saved whoever they could” before the vessel sank.

In total, seven of the 22 people on board the boat died when the Bayesian sank to the seabed.

Crew member Matthew Griffiths, 22, has now spoken out after the horrific incident, including in a heartbreaking five-word statement: “We saved whoever we could.”

Griffiths, who was on watch the night of the incident, the boat’s captain James Cutfield and the ship’s engineer Tim Parker Eaton are currently being investigated by Italian authorities for manslaughter and shipwreck, but this does not mean guilt or that formal charges will follow.

Griffiths told the Italian news agency Ansa: “I woke the captain when the wind reached 20 knots (23 miles per hour). He gave the order to wake everyone else. The ship tilted and we were thrown into the water.”

“Then we managed to resurface and tried to rescue as many as we could,” he added, describing the events of the fateful night when the Bayesian was anchored off the Sicilian port.”

“We walked on the sides (of the boat). We rescued whoever we could, Cutfield also rescued the little girl and her mother,” he added, referring to passenger Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter.

Bayesian captain Cutfield exercised his right to remain silent when questioned by police, according to his legal team, saying he was “exhausted” and needed more time to build his defence.

Parker Eaton has not yet commented on the investigation.

Earlier last week, prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano suggested that the Bayesian had probably been hit by a “downburst” – a strong downward wind.

However, the speed at which the ship sank puzzled naval experts.

It is clear that the yacht of the Italian luxury manufacturer Perini should not have fallen victim to the storm and should not have sunk so quickly.

Since the wreckage has still not been recovered from the water, prosecutors in Termini Imerese near Palermo said their investigation would take some time.