Bayesian superyacht leaked autopsy shows disturbing detail of final struggle (original) (raw)
Seven people onboard the £30million Bayesian superyacht tragically lost their lives when it sank off the coast of Italy during a violent thunderstorm last month
The luxury Bayesian yacht sank off the coast of Italy in a thunderstorm on August 18
Autopsies carried out on victims of the Bayesian superyacht tragedy have revealed an insight into their tragic final moments.
The £30million luxury boat was carrying 22 people when it sank off the coast of Italy during a freak storm in the early hours of Monday, August 18. Fifteen people were initially rescued, with chef Recaldo Thomas tragically pronounced dead. Six people were missing until their bodies were pulled from the water days later.
Experts have said the yacht could have sunk in as little as 60 seconds after being unmoored in what witnesses described as a waterspout tornado. Technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among those killed, alongside couples Jonathan and Judith Bloomer and Christopher and Neda Morvillo.
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah sadly both died (
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PA)
Hannah, 18, was among the six people who devastatingly lost their lives (
Image:
PA)
It has now emerged that four of the victims are feared to have suffocated to death in air pockets that filled with carbon dioxide as the vessel sank. According to Italian news outlet La Republica, autopsies carried out at Palermo's Policlinico hospital have so far revealed the two couples, the Bloomers and Morvillos, had no water in their lungs.
It is claimed that Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan, 70, and his wife Judy were 'not full of water and neither were their stomachs or trachea'. The publication reports that the married couple may have been conscious, desperately trying to reach the air, as the yacht sank and they 'suffocated'.
New York lawyer Chris and his partner Neda reportedly also had no signs of injuries in post-mortem examinations. The leaked report adds that the air bubble would not have lasted long as it would have been 'small and quickly filled with rising levels of toxic carbon dioxide', Mail Online reports.
Autopsies on Mr Lynch, Hannah and Mr Thomas are expected to be carried out on Friday. Meanwhile, prosecutors are investigating the captain and two crew members for possible responsibility in connection with the sinking. The 56-metre yacht sank during what appears to have been a sudden downburst or localised powerful wind.
Two of the couples had no water in their lungs, according to autopsies leaked to the Italian press (
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VIGILI DEL FUOCO HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Prosecutors said raising the Bayesian and examining the yacht for evidence would provide key elements to the investigation. No timeline has been determined.
It comes as Hewlett Packard Enterprise said on Monday it won't drop its UK claim for damages against the estate of Mr Lynch. In 2022, Britain's High Court ruled mostly in favour of the US technology company which accused Lynch and his former finance director of fraud over its $11billion takeover of his software company, Autonomy.
Hewlett Packard is seeking up to $4 billion in damages and the judge is expected to issue a decision on the final sum soon. Mr Lynch's widow, Angela Bacares, could now be liable for the damages. Months before the sinking, Lynch was acquitted in a separate US criminal trial of fraud and conspiracy charges in the deal.
Hewlett Packard initially celebrated the costly acquisition of Lynch's company in 2011 but quickly came to regret it. The company said in a statement Monday that it had "substantially succeeded" in its civil fraud claims against Lynch and Sushovan Hussain, the former finance director.