- Seven people died when the yacht sank after being hit by a violent downburst
The bodies of the Bayesian yacht disaster victims, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah, have been flown back to their families from Sicily.
Seven people were killed when the Bayesian, a £30 million superyacht owned by the Darktrace founder, sank last month in just 16 minutes after it was hit by a violent downburst.
Mr Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter lost their lives alongside Morgan Stanley International president Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judith, as well a New York lawyer Chris Morvillo and his partner Neda and of the chef Recaldo Thomas.
They have now been repatriated on private planes, with their funerals expected to be held in each of their home countries over the coming days, Italian media reports.
Post-mortem examinations were carried out on the victims over recent days in Sicily, with preliminary results suggesting all but one had been trapped below deck when they died.
Fifteen of the 22 passengers and crew survived the wrecking of Bayesian last month by clambering on to an inflatable life raft.
Autopsies carried out on victims at Palermo’s Policlinico hospital earlier this month revealed that they had no water in their lungs, Italian media reported, adding to fears that they may have been conscious as the yacht sank.
While their bodies have now been returned home, doctors in Palermo are continuing to investigate whether their deaths were caused by drowning or lack of oxygen in the cabin.
All the victims in the disaster were passengers except for the yacht’s chef Recaldo Thomas.
His body, which was found in the sea close to where the Bayesian sank, was the first to be recovered.
The other victims – apart from Hannah who was found in her cabin – were in another room.
Italian media last week claimed that it was Hannah’s mother and Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who had gone below deck to wake them and inform them the vessel was about to go down.
She is said to have been woken by the fierce storm and gone onto the bridge where she found several crew members.
Ms Bacares, who was barefoot, then went back below deck to warn the others but cut her feet on glass that had fallen onto the floor.
As prosecutors investigate the deadly incident, it was revealed last week that a water rescue team had recovered crucial video surveillance equipment from the vessel.
Six elite divers from the Italian Navy who made repeated trips down to the wreckage more than 160ft below the water’s surface found computers and hard drives, according to a report.
The electronic equipment will now be examined to see if any data can be extracted, or if there is video footage showing how the yacht sank that may solve the mystery of why and how the vessel went down last month.
Three members of the crew including New Zealand skipper James Cutfield, 51, British chief engineer Tim Parker Eaton, 59, and conational Matthew Griffiths, 22, are now being investigated for causing a disaster and manslaughter.
However, this does not necessarily mean that charges will follow, and it will be up to an investigating magistrate to decide if a full trial will take place and that will be after the probe is closed.
