Sicilian prosecutors announced on Saturday that they are investigating potential manslaughter following the sinking of a superyacht that resulted in the death of seven individuals. It has been revealed that passengers trapped inside sought out air pockets after the vessel went down. UK tech mogul Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, four friends, and the yacht's cook perished when the British-flagged Bayesian went down in a storm before dawn on Monday.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of Termini Imerese has initiated a case against unknown parties, considering the charges of negligent shipwreck and multiple negligent manslaughter, according to state prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio. He emphasized that the announcement of the investigation was due to the significant international attention on the case, and noted that they are still in the early stages of the investigation, with no possibilities being ruled out.
Lynch, aged 59, had invited friends and family aboard to celebrate his recent acquittal in a major US fraud case. However, the 56-meter yacht encountered a mini-tornado while anchored off Porticello, near Palermo. Fifteen people were rescued, and the chef's body was recovered shortly after. The bodies of four of Lynch's friends were identified on Wednesday, with Lynch's body found on Thursday and his daughter's on Friday.
The bodies were located in two cabins on the side closest to the surface, suggesting that the trapped passengers had moved there to find air pockets. The ship sank stern-first and came to rest on its right side at a depth of 50 meters, according to Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra of the fire service. He explained that the passengers had sought refuge in the cabins on the left side where the last air bubbles formed.
Bayesian's emergency flare was launched at 4.38am on Monday, and the coastguard responded immediately, but by the time they arrived, the yacht had already sunk. Contrary to earlier reports, Raffaele Macauda from the Sicilian coastguard stated there had been no storm warning that night. The officials confirmed that the crew were permitted to leave Sicily during the investigation. Details regarding whether the yacht's doors were open, which could explain the rapid sinking, will only be confirmed once the wreck is recovered, a process that could take weeks.
Lynch, formerly known as the British 'Bill Gates', founded software firm Autonomy in the 1990s. His acquittal in June followed the $11 billion sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011, which led to fraud charges in the US. After Hannah's body was brought ashore, her family released a statement expressing their profound grief. US lawyer Chris Morvillo, a partner at Clifford Chance, and his wife Neda also died, along with Jonathan Bloomer, chair of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife Judy. The chef was identified as Canadian-Antiguan Recaldo Thomas.
