This is the British chief engineer who is facing investigation after the tragic sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, it emerged today.
Tim Parker-Eaton, 56, from Bedfordshire, and fellow Briton Matthew Griffiths, 22, join Kiwi skipper James Cutfield on the official list of those warned they are being formally investigated for shipwreck and multiple manslaughter.
Seven people died when the £30m yacht went down in a storm off the village of Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily in the early hours of August 19, including tech tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Mr Parker-Eaton, from Clophill, Beds, was the ship’s engineer while deckhand Mr Griffiths is said to have been on the night watch when disaster struck at around 4am.
Data from the superyacht shows it was hit by a violent storm downburst at 3.50am and sank 16 minutes later, at 4.06am. But it was not until 4.34am that the crew fired a red flare from their life raft, according to local reports.
Pictured here is Tim Parker-Eaton, 56, who has been the Bayesian chief engineer since 2013
Mr Parker-Eaton (pictured) is facing investigation after the tragic sinking of the superyacht Bayesian
Seven people died when the £30m yacht went down in a storm off the village of Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily. Pictured: Mr Parker-Eaton (left)
A handout photo made available on August 19 by Perini Navi Press Office shows the ‘Bayesian’ sailing boat, in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Mr Parker-Eaton, 56, from Bedfordshire, and fellow Briton Matthew Griffiths, 22, join Kiwi skipper James Cutfield (pictured) on the official list of those warned they are being formally investigated for shipwreck and multiple manslaughter
One of the key questions prosecutors are addressing is how all but one crew survived the disaster whereas six passengers died.
Along with Mike and Hannah Lynch, the ship’s chef, Antiguan-Canadian Recaldo Thomas, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda all lost their lives.
The body of the chef was found floating in the water on the day the yacht went down. The other bodies were found days later by specialist divers in two cabins inside the yacht.
Mr Parker-Eaton is believed to have formerly lived in Bedfordshire where his elderly parents are both believed to be dead.
Yesterday, the family’s home, which still belongs to Tim’s mother Dororthy, according to Land Register records, was empty with a sold sign.
His father Bob Parker-Eaton, OBE, who died aged 83 in 2014, was also a former RAF wing commander in the 1950s and went on to join the board of Brttannia Airways, once the world’s largest holiday airline, which ceased operations in 2005.
Mr Cutfield’s lawyer Aldo Mordiglia, who is based in Genoa, said that ‘as far as he knew’, his client and the other members of the crew who had been staying in a hotel near Porticello following the disaster so they could questioned by authorities had ‘been allowed to leave and go home’.
Mr Cutfield, 50, is thought to have returned to his home on the Spanish island of Majorca while Mr Parker-Eaton, is also though to live there, while Mr Griffiths’ residence is not known.
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah both died in the Bayesian tragedy when the superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily
The British-flagged Bayesian superyacht (pictured) was owned by tech magnate Mike Lynch
Recaldo Thomas, chef on the Bayesian, was the first person to be recovered after the yacht sunk last Monday
Judy and Jonathan Bloomer died on the Bayesian as it keeled over in the water
The bodies of Neda and Chris Morvillo, pictured in 2018, were also retrieved last week
Officials are also said to be considering placing the first officer, Dutchman Tijs Koopmans, 33, under formal investigation.
No charges have officially been brought against any of the crew, and under Italian law being placed under investigation does not necessarily mean that an indictment will follow, as it will be for an examining magistrate to decide once the file is presented if there is enough evidence to go to trial.
A defence source told MailOnline: ‘This investigation will take many, many months and for a start it will have to wait until the Bayesian is raised from the seabed which may not happen until October.
‘Even that will be a laborious operation so it will be a long time before we know anything for sure against any of those who have been placed under formal investigation by the prosecutors in Palermo.’
Mr Cutfield and the other crew members have been allowed to leave Italy for the time being, according to local media reports.
Mr Eaton-Parker, pictured here for the first time, has long been associated with the Bayesian, serving as its chief engineer from its launch in 2013, when it was known as Salute.
He was closely involved in the installation of its 75m (246ft) aluminium mast, The Times reported last week.
Mr Cutfield (pictured) is now being investigated for shipwreck and manslaughter
Search vessels returning to shore on Friday after Hannah Lynch’s body was discovered
Italian prosecutors held a press conference on Saturday where it was revealed the victims were unable to escape as they had been asleep during the storm
Following the tragedy, Giovanni Costantino CEO of Italian Sea Group, which owns the Bayesian’s builders Perini Navi, claimed ‘human error’ had led to the sinking with the crew failing to be ‘prepared’ for the storm and ‘hatches being left open’.
There are also reports that the retractable keel of the Bayesian – which helps maintain stability – was not fully deployed.
The 56m Bayesian – which was famous for its 76m aluminium mast – is currently lying at a depth of 165ft just off Porticello and there are also growing concerns for more than 18,000 litres of fuel onboard which could cause an environmental disaster.
Mr Cutfield and the surviving crew were expected to fly out of Palermo later today on an executive jet that was due to land from Majorca.
The news came as a crowdfunding campaign was launched in Majorca, where many of the Bayesian crew lived, and had raised more than €5,000 for their expenses and immediate needs.
He and others based on the Spanish island had been staying temporarily at a hotel with other survivors near Palermo while being questioned.
The departure of the survivors back to their base had been delayed as they lost their passports when the Bayesian sank earlier this month.
According to reports in Italian media, Mr Parker-Eaton was placed under investigation by judicial authorities because an engineer should have supervised the “closing of hatches” but this had allegedly not been carried out.
Mr Griffiths, who is believed to also have French as well as British nationality, was under investigation, it was claimed because as he was allegedly on watch when the storm was approaching.
Meanwhile an environmental ship has arrived on the scene ready to deploy flotation booms should there be a leak from the Bayesian’s fuel tanks.
