ROME - Italian prosecutors have begun an official investigation of James Cutfield, captain of the superyacht belonging to British tech magnate Mike Lynch that sank off Sicily last week, killing its owner and six others, Italian media said on Monday.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the decision. Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will necessarily follow.

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

While the yacht had been hit by a very sudden meteorological event, it was plausible that crimes of multiple manslaughter and causing a shipwreck through negligence had been committed, the head of the public prosecutor's office of Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Cartosio, said on Saturday.

Maritime law gives a captain full responsibility for the ship and the crew, as well as the safety of all aboard.

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Cutfield and his eight surviving crew have made no public comment yet on the disaster.