Probe launched into ‘whether hatches of Bayesian superyacht were left open and caused it to sink in minutes’

21 August 2024, 08:05

Investigators are looking into whether open hatches could have led to the doomed yacht Bayesian sinking in a matter of minutes.

Hopes are fading for six people rescuers fear are trapped inside the luxury yacht that sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily.

Italian prosecutors have openied an investigation into the disaster. They will seek to establish why the boat sank, and if any of the crew are criminally liable.

One expert at the scene in Sicily told reporters an early focus would be on whether the access hatches into the vessel were closed before the storm struck.

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.

Read more: Missing passengers on superyacht are 'probably dead' after being trapped inside ship as it sank, coastguard says

Super-yacht tragedy: Who is still missing and who has been rescued? What is known so far

“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.”

The Italian Coastguard has not ruled out the possibility that those missing, including technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, may still be alive, with experts speculating air pockets could have formed as the yacht sank.

Among those missing are also 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."

CCTV footage shows weather in Porticello on morning luxury yacht sank

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.

Vincenzo Zagarola of the Italian Coastguard said the six missing tourists were feared dead.

Asked about the likelihood of them being alive, he said: "Never say never, but reasonably the answer should be not."

He told the PA news agency: "We think they are still inside the boat, that is our very hard idea.

"Our search and rescue activity by sea and air has gone on for around 36 hours.

"Of course, we do not exclude that they are not inside the boat, but we know the boat sank quickly.

"We suppose that the six people missing may not have had time to get out of the boat."

Italy's fire brigade Vigili del Fuoco said it is developing a plan to enter the wreckage of Bayesian, which is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50 metres.

It described the operation as "complex", with divers limited to 12-minute underwater shifts.

Dr Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a senior lecturer of mechanical, biomedical and design engineering at Aston University, said the next 24 hours are "crucial" to find survivors trapped inside the wreck.

"The speed at which the vessel sank (a few minutes, according to survivor and witness accounts) and the fact that it remains intact and on its side could favour the formation of small air pockets inside," he said.

"This is obviously highly speculative and impossible to predict accurately.

"A sign the rescuers may be looking for is a banging noise at regular intervals.

"This is common practice on submarines and was one of the signs the search mission for the Titan submarine was looking for after it went missing last year.

"But whether air pockets formed on the Bayesian is simply impossible to predict."

Of the 22 passengers and crew onboard, 15 - including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares - were rescued after escaping onto a lifeboat.

The Mirror reported Ms Bacares is in a "state of shock and sadness" as she awaits news of her husband. She has reportedly been joined by the couple's elder daughter who was not aboard the boat.

More of the yacht's rescued crew members were named by the Italian Coastguard on Tuesday, with Leo Eppel and South African nationals Leah Randall and Katja Chicken all confirmed as having been on board.

Survivors are recuperating at a hotel complex in Porticello where authorities are gathering witness statements.

The ship's captain James Calfield, 51 told Italian media: "We didn't see it coming".

Mr Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of conducting a massive fraud relating to the 11 billion US dollar (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.

The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal.

The Financial Times reported that Mr Bloomer appeared at trial as a defence witness for Mr Lynch, while media reports suggest the pair are close friends.

A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley said the bank was "shocked and saddened" while Clifford Chance said it was a "tragic incident".

David Tabizel, Mr Lynch's Autonomy co-founder, told Sky News: "I'm just heartbroken for him and his family and I hope there's a miracle about to occur.

"If anyone has the resilience to survive this - he does. And I hope he's found an air pocket."

Mr Tabizel added: "He has been one of the most influential, intelligent and most honourable human beings I have ever had the honour of knowing."

The former school of Mr Lynch's daughter has said its "thoughts are with their family and everyone involved".

A spokesperson for Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, said: "We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates."

Ed Llewellyn, British ambassador to Italy, met some of the survivors of the sinking at a hotel.

Ayla Ronald, a New Zealand national working at Clifford Chance, survived the ordeal.

Her father Lin Ronald confirmed to the Telegraph she had been invited aboard as a thanks for assistance in Mr Lynch's recent court case.

Another of the survivors, British tourist Charlotte Emsley, told la Repubblica she held her one-year-old daughter, Sofia, to stop her from drowning.

Charlotte and Sofia were treated in hospital, as was Sofia's father, James Emsley.

In a separate incident, Mr Lynch's co-defendant in his US fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, died after being hit by a car while out running in Cambridgeshire on Saturday.

In a statement released through Cambridgeshire Police, Mr Chamberlain's family said: "Steve was a much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend.

"He was an amazing individual whose only goal in life was to help others in any way possible."