Mike Lynch’s family yacht sank off the coast of Sicily last month. (File
Palermo:
British tech magnate Mike Lynch died of asphyxiation after running out of oxygen, an investigative source said, citing initial investigations carried out on Saturday after his body was recovered from the family yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily last month.
Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, an onboard cook and four guests died when the British-flagged superyacht Bayesian sank on August 19 during heavy and sudden weather off the port of Porticello, near Palermo.
Initial results from Hannah Lynch’s body, examinations of which were carried out on Saturday, were inconclusive, the source told Reuters. They only ruled out any possible trauma or wounds as a cause of death, leaving open the possibility that she either ran out of oxygen or drowned.
The bodies of the dead, with the exception of the cook, were found in cabins on the left side of the 56-meter-long ship, where the trapped passengers may have tried to search for remaining air bubbles, the chief of the Palermo fire brigade said last month.
Preliminary results of autopsies on four other victims — Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judith, attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda — indicated asphyxiation as the likely cause of death, judicial sources said earlier this week.
Fifteen people survived, including Lynch’s wife, whose company owned the Bayesian, and the captain of the yacht.
Initial examinations of Canadian-Antiguan chef Recaldo Thomas on board indicated that he died by drowning, the investigative source said on Saturday.
Further forensic tests have been ordered on all victims, with results expected in the coming weeks, the source said.
The sinking has puzzled naval experts, who said a ship like the Bayesian, built by luxury yacht manufacturer Perini, owned by Italy’s Sea Group, should have weathered the storm and not sunk as quickly as it did .
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