Italian prosecutors are investigating the circumstances surrounding the sinking of the 56m Perini Navi sloop in the early morning of 19 August when a violent storm struck the yacht off the fishing village of Porticello, on the northern coast of Sicily.

Karsten Borner, the captain of a nearby sailboat that was the first to assist, described the storm as ‘very, very violent’ to reporters. ‘I have never seen a vessel of this size go down so quickly. Within a few minutes, there was nothing left.’

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group that owns Perini Navi, told the BBC there were 16 minutes between the power going out on the ship at 0356 – when water flooded areas with electrical circuits – and the GPS signal being lost, indicating the time the yacht sank.

A four-person team from the British government’s Marine Accident and Investigation Branch has flown to Italy to join their Italian counterparts – the Bayesian was sailing under a UK flag.

The prosecutors from Termini Imerese in Sicily have placed Bayesian captain James Cutfield and two British crew members, ship engineer Tim Parker-Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffiths, under investigation, Italian news outlets reported.

The men are being probed on charges of suspected multiple negligent manslaughter and causing a shipwreck. There is no indication of guilt at this stage and formal charges may not necessarily follow.

Parker-Eaton is being investigated for possibly failing to activate security systems to close the boat’s hatches and doors, which could have caused the engine room to flood, provoking a black out and contributing to the shipwreck, Italian news agency ANSA reported, citing investigative sources.

Griffiths, who was on night watch in the cockpit, allegedly should have warned about the arrival of the violent weather event that led to the ship sinking, ANSA reported.

The investigators will also look at the design, stability and operation of the vessel, which has a 72-metre aluminium mast, the tallest in the world, and a lifting keel as well as the effects of the severe weather conditions, including a downburst, and the role of the New Zealand captain and the eight other crew.

The bodies of UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch, Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International and his wife, Judy and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda, were recovered from the yacht’s interior by divers several days later.

The body of the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, was located shortly after the vessel sank.

The 15 survivors, who were rescued from a life raft, were Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares and five guests, including a one-year-old, as well as Cutfield and the crew.

Suddenly the healing increased

‘A crew member has reported that the weather deteriorated and they (the crew) were on deck securing everything moveable (cushions, doors, etc) and the boat was heeling about 20° to starboard in the strong wind,’ ANSA reported. ‘Suddenly the heeling increased and they were in the water. This sounds like sudden massive downflooding.’

ANSA also reported that the retractable keel with a large pivoting centre board was normally only deployed when sailing and was retracted at night to reduce noise.

The yacht sank on her starboard side in 50 metres of water.

A downburst hit

Italian prosecutors said they believed that a downburst had hit the ship, contradicting early reports of a tornado or waterspout. In a downburst, air shoots down from the base of the cloud producing wind speeds of more than 100 mph (160km/h) before spreading out unpredictably on hitting the surface.

Thunderstorms are reasonably common in Europe during the late summer and widespread low pressure in August is thought to have increased the severity of the storms.

The International Centre for Waterspout Research confirmed 18 waterspouts off the coast of Italy on 19 August.

Unusually warm seas may also have increased the severity of the storms, with the Mediterranean hitting a record high sea temperature of 28.9° on 15 August.

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