Alex Trelinski
THE skipper of a luxury yacht that collided with a small fishing boat in Mallorca killing a 21-year-old man, has returned home to Germany.
Air pilot Dennis Viehof, 34, is being investigated by the Guardia Civil for alleged reckless homicide and failing to stop to help the victim, Guiem Comamala.
Guiem was studying for mathematics degree in Barcelona and was an accomplished beach volleyball player.
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The incident happened last Friday at around 10pm in Cala Bona when he was sailing his father’s 20-metre long luxury yacht called La Luna.
The vessel ran over a small boat where Guiem was fishing with his uncle and cousin.
The victim died instantly after being struck by the propellers but the other two people were unharmed.
His uncle said: “The yacht was going at full speed and we screamed like crazy.”
He added that the boat- less than four metres long- had lights and because of them, he was able to retrieve his nephew’s body.
He also insisted that the yacht ‘did not brake at any time’ following the incident.
The yacht, which travlled from Costa dels Pins, continued its journey to the Porto Cristo yacht club, where it is moored.
Crew members questioned by the Guardia Civil said they did not see any lights or small boat.
Dennis Viehof, who obtained his yacht skipper’s license in 2006, has insisted that at no time did he realise that he had run over anybody.
He is said to be ‘dismayed’ by the accident and appeared voluntarily at the Guardia Civil barracks in Palma on Wednesday.
Viehof invoked his legal right not to give a statement under the advice of his solicitor as he awaits a maritime accident report.
Guardia officers are trying to discover how fast the German-flagged yacht was travelling and whether the small boat had regulation lights turned on.
