In a tragic turn of events, the recent Bayesian yacht disaster claimed the lives of seven individuals, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah.
The catastrophe unfolded on August 19 when a violent storm struck the yacht off the coast of Sicily, causing it to sink rapidly. The victims were trapped below deck as the yacht settled on its right side.
According to The Independent, autopsies conducted on four of the victims revealed a lack of water in their lungs, suggesting that they suffocated as the air in the sunken vessel became saturated with carbon dioxide. This finding was reported by the Italian publication, La Repubblica, which stated that the post-mortems showed the victims died from "atypical drowning" with "no water in their lungs, trachea, and stomach." There were no signs of external injuries, reinforcing the theory that the victims sought out air pockets inside the yacht before their demise.
The yacht's rapid descent trapped the victims below deck. Divers who retrieved the bodies found five of them, including Mr. Lynch, in one cabin on the left side of the yacht. Hannah Lynch's body was discovered last, in a separate cabin. The body of the yacht's chef, Recaldo Thomas, was also recovered floating near the wreckage, which lies 50 meters below the surface.
Investigators believe the victims sought out remaining air pockets as the vessel tilted sharply to the right while sinking. However, the air supply was likely short-lived as it would have been "small and quickly filled with rising levels of toxic carbon dioxide." The autopsy findings, detailed in La Repubblica, appeared to support this theory.
Among the victims examined were Jonathan Bloomer, the international chairman of Morgan Stanley Bank; his wife Judith, a psychotherapist; Christopher Morvillo, a US lawyer; and his wife Neda, a jewelry designer. Previous reports suggested that Mr. and Ms. Morvillo drowned, but post-mortems found their lungs were "not fully of water," a condition known as "dry drowning."
La Repubblica reported that Ms. Barcares, the CEO of the company that owns the superyacht, managed to reach the deck barefoot but was only able to think about saving her daughter and her husband trapped below. As the boat reared up, she cut herself on broken glass and was unable to reach the cabins and help Mr. Lynch and their daughter Hannah before the electrical blackout on the Bayesian.
The remaining autopsies, on Mr. Lynch, his daughter, and Mr. Thomas, are scheduled for Friday. Nine crew members and six passengers, including Mr. Lynchs wife, survived by escaping on an inflatable life raft.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, prosecutors have launched an investigation into the yachts captain, New Zealander James Cutfield, along with two Britons engineer Tim Parker Eaton and crew member Matthew Griffiths over allegations of possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck. Mr. Parker Eaton denied claims that external doors were left open during the storm, which reportedly allowed water to flood the engine room.
Mr. Griffiths, who was on watch duty at the time, told investigators: I woke up the captain when the wind was at 20 knots [23mph/37kph]. He gave orders to wake everyone else. The ship tilted and we were thrown into the water. Then we managed to get back up and tried to rescue those we could. We were walking on the walls [of the boat]. We saved who we could, Cutfield also saved the little girl and her mother.
The men have been permitted to leave Sicily as investigators work to piece together the crucial events that unfolded in the 16-minute window between the yacht being hit by a suspected downburst storm at 3.50am and its rapid sinking at 4.06am, just 400 meters from its anchorage near the Sicilian port of Porticello. Being investigated does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will follow. This tragic incident serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable and often deadly power of nature.
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