Probe into Bayesian superyacht tragedy reveals storm was not to blame for fatal sinking
The final report into the sinking of billionaire Mike Lynch's boat reveals that its captain and crew could now be in the firing line - alongside the ship builder
Investigators looking into the sinking of billionaire Mike Lynch's superyacht off the coast of Italy have concluded that a freak storm was not to blame for its sinking.
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Rescuers worked around the clock in an attempt to rescue those trapped inside the luxury yacht, with the sinking eventually claiming the lives of Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and 5 others.
Investigators had been probing whether the storm was to blame, after what some witnesses described as a 'typhoon' appeared off the coast of Sicily in August 2024.
Now, prosecutors who opened an investigation into the disaster have filed their final conclusions after appointing experts to probe possible reasons behind the sinking - and the storm was not at fault.
It comes after it emerged that the widow of the late British tech tycoon Mike Lynch is set to lose her fortune after she was ordered to pay £930 million in damages to Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) amid a long-running court case.
One expert in Sicily told reporters at the time that the early focus of the probe would focus on whether the access hatches into the vessel were closed before the storm struck.
Prosecutors reportedly found, after appointing the experts, that the storm was "little more than a squall, a sudden increase in wind speed that precedes thunderstorms and downpours" that should have been a manageable situation for the crew.
As reported by Sky News, the findings revealed that the ship sank due to improper actions carried of the crew members on board the vessel.
Italian prosecutors are now reportedly considering whether charges of negligent shipwreck and multiple counts of manslaughter will be brought against the captain and crew.
The suggestion that the liability also lies with the the superyacht's boat builder has also been raised.
At the time of the sinking, Sam Jefferson, editor of the magazine Sailing Today, said: “I would have said that the boat got hit very hard by the wind, it was pinned over on its side.
“I imagine all the doors were open because it was hot, so there were enough hatches and doors open that it filled with water very quickly and sank like that.
“The reason it got pinned over so hard was because the mast is huge.”
Lynch was with 11 other guests and 10 crew members aboard the ship when sank.
Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, was rescued from the sinking vessel.
Among those to have died in the sinking are Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.
Jeremy Bloomer, Jonathan Bloomer's twin brother, told the BBC: "It's a slow process and it will take time. So there might be air pockets, but we don't know. It's still wait and see, so fingers crossed".
The body recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday was that of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working on the Bayesian superyacht, the Italian Coastguard told Sky News.
Gareth Williams, a friend of the chef, told the BBC: "I can talk for everyone that knew him when I say he was a well-loved, kind human being with a calm spirit."
Another friend, Eli Fuller, told the outlet Mr Thomas was "friends with everybody", "always positive" and "sought after" in his profession.
Bayesian was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank at around 5am local time on Monday as the area was hit by a storm.
The wreckage of Bayesian came to rest on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50 metres.
The rescue operation was described as "complex", with divers limited to 12-minute underwater shifts.