Final tragic moments of the victims of the superyacht disaster revealed

25 August 2024, 11:06 | Updated: 25 August 2024, 12:26

Passengers on board the ill-fated Bayesian superyacht tried desperately to find the last pockets of air as the vessel sank to the seabed, investigators have revealed.

Meanwhile, when speaking to Ben Kentish, marine investigator James Wilkes told LBC on Sunday morning: "The yacht was not unsinkable, and neither was the Titanic."

He added that Mike Lynch's superyacht sank "quickly" and could have capsized even if the crew "had done everything right."

He added: "A lot of people have been shocked, upset, distressed by this incident."

Five of the victims' bodies were recovered from one cabin, whilst the youngest, 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, was identified alone in a bedroom two doors away.

The horrendous last moments of the sinking £30m ship were put together at a crowded 90-minute press conference yesterday, which was hosted by the prosecutors who have launched a manslaughter and shipwreck investigation without identifying suspects.

Emergency service personnel and divers spoke in detail about the tricky five-day long rescue mission 160ft below the sea of Porticello in Sicily, which quickly turned into one where they were rescuing the dead.

Divers from the specialist fire brigade cave rescue team spoke of the challenges they faced being more than 50m below the surface, whilst the boat was on its side, full of floating debris, with mirrors reflecting their head torches back at them.

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High-flying student Hannah, who was about to begin studying at Oxford University was on board with her father Mike and mother Angela, accompanied by lawyers and friends of the tycoon to celebrate his acquittal on fraud and conspiracy charges in the US in June after a lengthy legal battle.

Mrs Lynch survived the accident with fourteen other people, including the boat's captain, New Zealander James Cutfield, 51, and eight of his crew, when the ship sank in the early hours of Monday.

According to Bentivoglio Fiandra, head of Palermo's fire brigade and part of the divers' rescue team, the Bayesian sank stern-first and rolled onto its right side.

He said"As a result, the victims sought refuge on the left side of the boat, where the last air pockets remained as the vessel was sinking."

The divers found five bodies in the first cabin on the left, and one, Hannah's, in the third cabin on the left.

Chief Prosecutor for the district of Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Cartosio, leading the investigation, confirmed that Hannah's body was recovered on Friday, adding: "Hannah Lynch was recovered on August 23, which deeply moved the rescue team, prompting a spontaneous round of applause."

Diver Inspector Vicenzo Nardoni said: "It was an emotional liberation, a relief of stress. Because stress is our daily bread. We work on call and in emergencies, and we intervene immediately. So stress is our baggage, is what we bring with us."

He said the divers had to "recalibrate" to adjust to everything being on its side in the boat.

He continued: "We had to revise the scene from a different angle from the way we'd normally see it, and that made everything more difficult.

"We entered the confined spaces, having already performed evaluations on the safe point to enter inside the yacht. We found the safest spot and got inside from there.

"But inside it was a very confusing place, with wardrobes and furniture whirling all around us, and lots of mirrors reflecting back our lights at us.

"The bodies were all wedged in tight spots, with furniture on top or beside them. They were all stuck there."

The thirty divers only had 12 minute spells on the seabed from dawn until dusk.

Some were also involved in the 2012 recovery of the sunken Costa Concordia liner.

Giuseppe Frison, Head of the Department of the Fire Fighters' Divers, leading the cave divers, told The Daily Mail: "Let's say that this event has brought back some memories, having done nearly 50 dives on the Concordia incident.

"Inside the cabin, it revived the same sensations. But in terms of scale, everything was very different. Plus this dive was so much deeper, so we had to severely restrict our time at depth.'

"It felt a little like rerunning the movie in our heads, but it was more intense.

"It was like visiting someone's house turned at 90 degrees, with everything on its side.

"Since everything was revolving around us, we had to proceed slowly, first securing floating items for safety.

"We operated methodically, whether the spaces were large or small, searching everywhere until we found what we were looking for."

He added: "We were in a room full of debris, with a mixture of wooden furniture and other objects, but there was this new factor, as the space was full of mirrors, making it very disorientating, as you enter with the light on our heads, you seem to see yourself coming toward the boat, so it was very confusing."

The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht, was recovered at the scene on Monday.