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Yacht builder says ‘unspeakable’ crew errors led to shipwreck in Sicily
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Yacht builder says ‘unspeakable’ crew errors led to shipwreck in Sicily

The CEO of a manufacturing company responsible for building the yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily this week has blamed a series of “indescribable, unreasonable mistakes” by the crew for the ship’s demise.

Reuters reported that Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which includes Perini Navi, the Italian luxury yacht builder that built the British-flagged Bayesian yacht in 2008, blamed the crew of the 183-foot superyacht that sank Monday after capsizing.

“The boat made a series of indescribable, unreasonable mistakes. The impossible happened on that boat … but it went down because it was taking on water. Where from, the investigators will tell,” Costantino said in an interview.

Bayesian had 22 people on board — 12 passengers and 10 crew — when the ship capsized and sank within minutes after being hit by a pre-dawn storm while anchored off the coast of northern Sicily.

MOMENT LUXURY YACHT SINKS OFF THE COAST OF ITALY CAUGHT ON CAMERA, LEAVING 6 SUSPECTED DEAD

Italian fire brigade divers

Italian fire brigade divers bring ashore the body of one of the victims of a shipwreck in Porticello, Sicily, southern Italy, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in a plastic bag. (AP photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

The yacht has been renovated twice since it was built, most recently in 2020, but not by Perini.

Costantino ruled out design or construction flaws as the cause of the ship’s sinking, which he said was unlikely after 16 years of trouble-free sailing, including in more severe weather conditions than Bayesian encountered this week.

Instead, he blamed the yacht’s crew for the “incredible mistake” of not being prepared for the storm, despite it being included in shipping weather forecasts.

MIKE LYNCH’S BODY FOUND FROM SUPERYACHT WRECK AS ITALIAN DIVER SEARCHES FOR LAST MISSING PERSON

Italian fire brigade divers bring ashore the body of one of the victims of the British-flagged ship Bayesian in the green bag on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. The yacht was hit by a sudden, violent storm and sank Monday morning while anchored off the coast of the Sicilian village of Porticello, near Palermo, in southern Italy.

Italian fire brigade divers brought the body of one of the victims ashore from the British ship Bayesia on Wednesday. (Salvatore Cavalli)

“This is the mistake that cries out for revenge,” Costantino said.

Passengers should have been called from their cabins and gathered at a safe point while the ship prepared for the storm by raising anchor, the CEO said. In addition, doors and hatches should have been closed and the keel should have been lowered to increase stability, among other safety measures, Costantino said.

If proper procedures had been followed, all passengers would have fallen asleep again after an hour and “the next morning they would have happily resumed their wonderful cruise,” Costantino said.

WHO IS MIKE LYNCH, THE BRITISH TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEUR WHO GOES MISSING AFTER YACHT SINKS?

Mike Lynch

The body of British billionaire Mike Lynch is among those found on the luxury superyacht. (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

The body of billionaire tech mogul Mike Lynch is one of five bodies recovered from the luxury superyacht after it sank.

Lynch, a British tech giant, was apparently on board the Bayesian to celebrate his recent acquittal in a US fraud case, along with colleagues who helped him through the trial.

Among the six missing people were Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Christopher Morvillo, an American lawyer at Clifford Chance who defended Lynch in the fraud case, and Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, who testified in Lynch’s defense.

ITALIAN DIVERS FIND FIVE MORE BODIES, 1 STILL MISSING AFTER ODD TEXT FROM SUPERYACHT DISPATCH SURVIVOR

Bring back Thomas

Recaldo Thomas, a chef who died in the yacht disaster off the coast of Sicily, poses for a selfie in this photo taken from social media. (Recaldo Thomas/via Reuters)

Morvillo’s wife, Neda, and Bloomer’s wife, Judy, were also among the missing.

Divers have been searching for the missing inside the hull of the Bayesian, which now rests on the seabed 164 feet underwater. Although a sixth person, who officials say is a woman, is still missing, the operation is being considered a rescue since there have been no signs of life in three days of searching.

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A nearby sailboat rescued 15 people, including a 1-year-old girl. The body of the chef on board, Recaldo Thomas, a citizen of Antigua, was recovered Monday.

Investigators are trying to figure out why the superyacht sank so quickly.

Stephen Sorace of Fox News Digital, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.