Captain under investigation as tributes pour in for Hannah Lynch: live

Italian prosecutors have officially launched an investigation into James Cutfield, the captain of a superyacht owned by British tech mogul Mike Lynch, after the vessel sank off the coast of Sicily last week, resulting in the deaths of Lynch and six others, according to Italian news reports.

A 51-year-old New Zealand national, Mr Cutfield is being investigated for manslaughter and shipwreck, the Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera said.

• Why weren’t passengers who remained on board the vessel warned about escaping from the yacht?
• Why were several of the passengers in one cabin?
• Why did the boat sink?
• Why were nearby vessels not similarly affected?
• What weather warnings was the Bayesian alerted to?
• How long will it take to recover the sailing vessel?

A court-appointed armed guard, tasked with ensuring Mike Lynch did not abscond while facing fraud charges, has paid tribute to the tech mogul, saying the security team “became less of a detail and more like a family”.

Rolo Igno also described “the memory of a beautiful soul” in Mr Lynch’s daughter Hannah.

Mr Igno said he had the “privilege” of spending “almost every waking moment” with Mr Lynch while he was in custody in San Francisco, describing the detail as unlike any other he had ever worked and one that was “life changing”.

“As an executive protection agent, the number one rule is simple, don’t ever get close to the principal,” he said.

“They aren’t your friends, they’re a client and the relationship is strictly professional. But with Mike, that didn’t fly with him and for me that rule quickly dissolved.”

Italian public prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, from nearby town Termini Imerese, said his office has opened an initial investigation into manslaughter and negligent shipwreck. No specific suspects have been named, so far.

Read the full report below: