Onlookers seize British tech tycoon’s superyacht days earlier than it sank
Guests and crew members on the doomed Bayesian superyacht were filmed peacefully enjoying it’s owner’s ‘victory’ trip just days before the boat sank off the coast of Sicily.
Video taken by curious onlookers showed a group of people on the £30million vessel as it floated off Porticello, with men and women in white polo shirts seen moving around the deck in calm waters off the island of Vulcano last week.
The boat had been taken to Mediterranean island by British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who had invited family and friends with him to celebrate his ‘second life’ after being acquitted of fraud charges in the US.
Just days later six of those on board would be missing and 15 others dramatically rescued after the boat capsized following a direct hit from a freak ‘black swan’ waterspout during severe thunderstorms on Monday morning.
Today the search operation for those who are still not accounted for – including Mr Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter and a senior boss at Morgan Stanley – enters its third day, with divers warning they are not expecting to find anyone alive.
It comes as:
The Bayesian superyacht was filmed floating in the waters off the coast of Sicily by curious onlookers last week
In the footage people wearing white polo shirts could be seen walking around on the deck of the £30million superyacht
The boat was seen close to the island of Vulcano, which lies near Sicily, last week
Search workers head out to the scene of the sinking of the Bayesian this morning as the operation to find those still missing enters its third day
Hannah’s parents Mike Lynch and Angela Bacares (pictured) were on board with their daughter. Mrs Bacares survived while Lynch is still missing
Mr Lynch’s daughter, Hannah Lynch (pictured), was on board the Bayesian superyacht when it sank and is still missing
The superyacht (pictured) was docked off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, when it was hit by an over-sea tornado, known as a waterspout
Efforts to access the boat, which is resting 164ft (50m) down on the seabed, have been hampered by furniture blocking the entrances – having to smash their way through a 3cm-thick porthole to get access – and the depth which means they can only spend 10 minutes at the bottom before having to come back up.
Those in charge of the operation say they believe the missing are in their cabins and despite suggestions that there could be survivors in air pockets, the chances of them still being alive two days on are incredibly slim at best.
It comes as Italian authorities have launched an investigation into whether hatches left open by crew members caused the boat to sink so rapidly.
Meteorological experts have said the waterspout – which brought tornado speed winds in a matter of seconds – was a ‘black swan event’ due to its extreme rarity and severe impact.
Survivors who were thrown into the water during the terrifying incident have described it going under the water in minutes, while CCTV footage shows the superyacht vanishing in moments.
One expert at the scene said an early focus of the official investigation into the tragedy, launched by prosecutors in nearby Termini Imerese, would be whether the yacht’s crew had closed access hatches into the vessel before the storm struck.
Investigators would look at whether appropriate measures had been taken, given the forecasts for bad weather overnight, and if any of the crew members are criminally liable.
Sailing expert Sam Jefferson, editor of magazine Sailing Today, also said that he believes open hatches and doors could have contributed to the rapid sinking of Mr Lynch’s superyacht.
He 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.’
Search divers head out to the scene of the wreck near Porticello this morning as the operation to find the bodies of those missing continue
The huge Bayesian overturned during a severe thunderstorm on Monday morning
Rescue workers look at the plans of the the Bayesian as they organise a search operation for six people who are still missing after the superyacht sank
Andrea Ratti, a nautical design professor at Milan Polytechnic University, said that a boat the size of the Bayesian would only sink so quickly by taking in a huge amount of water.
He suggested that portholes, windows or other openings may have been left open, letting in water.
Weather records show temperatures reached around 33C the day before the sinking, which may have led to the vessel’s occupants wanting air to flow through while they slept.
Luca Mercalli, the president of the Italian Meteorological Society, said on Tuesday that the crew should have made sure that all the guests were awake and given them lifejackets in light of the forecasted heavy rains.
Chief prosecutor of Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Cartosio, and his team are expected to interview the 15 survivors soon to determine what led to the tragic sinking of the Bayesian yacht.
Among the survivors is Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, 57, who is said to be in ‘a state of shock and sadness’, the Daily Mirror reports, as the search for her husband, daughter and four others has entered its third day.
The Italian coastguard has insisted it is continuing its search, even though a positive outcome after nearly two days is ‘difficult to imagine’.
Frigate Captain Vincenzo Zagarola told Italian radio station RTL: ‘Given the time that has passed and the circumstances of the event, it is naturally difficult to imagine that things can go well but we are not giving up, so we are busy [searching] with naval and air resources.’
Nick Sloane, who worked on the Costa Concordia salvage operation, said divers are entering a ‘critical’ 24 hours to rescue anyone who might still be alive.
‘They’ve got a very small window of time to try to find people stuck inside with hopefully an air pocket, and they could be rescued,’ Mr Sloane told Sky News.
‘You’ve got a maximum of two to three days to try to get someone out, so the next 24 hours are critical.’
But when Mr Zagarola was asked about the likelihood of the missing passengers being alive, he said: ‘Never say never, but reasonably the answer should be not.’
A total of six people are still missing – Mr Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.
The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working on the yacht as a cook, was found in the water shortly after search operations began on Monday.
Divers from Napoli and Messina are assisting with the huge search operation, which is being made more difficult due to cables and furnishings obstructing the way to the cabins, Italian media reported.
Dr Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a senior lecturer of mechanical, biomedical and design engineering at Aston University, said that divers ‘may be looking for a banging noise at regular intervals’.
Chairman of Morgan Stanley International, Jonathan Bloomer (pictured), and his wife are also missing
Lynch’s attorney Christopher Morvillo (pictured) and his wife Nada are also missing
Neda and her husband Christopher are both missing in the wake of Monday’s superyacht sinking
Judy Bloomer, who is missing, is a supporter and former board member of the Eve Appeal, a charity that raises awareness and funds research into gynaecological cancer
‘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,’ he said and added: ‘But whether air pockets formed on the Bayesian is simply impossible to predict.’
After inspecting the command bridge, which is outdoors, the cave divers descended into the main lounge from an internal ladder.
But inside, they were obstructed by floating objects from chairs and cushions to utensils and plates.
Marco Tilotta, inspector of the Palermo Fire Department’s diving unit, said: ‘We checked the hull from the outside and now we have entered the vessel to inspect all the rooms.
‘Access to the hull is difficult, getting inside, going down to the compartment below through the narrow stairs and going into all the cabins to analyse centimetre by centimetre is really hard and difficult work.’
It comes as school friends of missing Hannah are anxiously waiting for updates on her safe return, with her prestigious Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, saying it is ‘in shock’ after its former pupil disappeared.
A spokesperson for the £25,000-a-year school 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.’
Hannah had just completed her A-Levels and gained a place to study English at Oxford before the tragedy.
It is believed the ship sank after its mast – one of tallest in the world at an enormous 246ft-high – snapped during the brutal incident and keeled over, taking the hull beyond the ‘down-flooding angle’, according to nautical experts.
Among the 15 who survived include a one-year-old British baby called Sofia, who was kept afloat by her mother, 35-year-old Charlotte Golunski.
Mrs Golunski, an Oxford graduate and senior associate at Invoke, also survived after fighting to prevent her child from drowning.
The mother told Italian newspaper Republicca: ‘I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning.
‘It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.’
Mrs Golunski’s British husband James Emsilie, 36, also survived the tragedy.
Another survivor is Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, who is now reportedly recovering from her injuries in a wheelchair.
She revealed that the first sign of the freak waterspout that sunk the luxury sailboat Bayesian was a ‘slight tilt’ that woke her up.
Lynch’s wife told La Repubblica that she and her husband woke up at 4am when the boat suddenly ’tilted’.
Mrs Bacares said that they were not worried at the time, but that she still got up to see what was happening, until glass shattered and created confusion on board.
She sustained abrasions on her feet – likely after walking on glass shards during the sinking – which have left her unable to walk and sitting in a wheelchair, La Repubblica reports, while she also has bandages on others part of her body.
Another survivor is Clifford Chance lawyer Ayla Ronald, 36, who was part of the successful legal team invited to go sailing with Lynch, according to her father Lin.
On-board hostesses Leah Randall, 20, from South Africa, also survived the tragedy.
Charlotte Golunski, 36, (pictured) her husband and her one-year-old baby also survived
Mr Ronald told the Telegraph: ‘I have texted with my daughter. She has only said to me that there are deaths, and she and her partner are alive’ (pictured: Ayla Ronald)
On-board hostess Leah Randall, 20, from South Africa, was also on board and survived
Heidi Randall, Leah’s mother, told Sky News: ‘I’m beyond relieved that my daughter’s life was spared by the grace of God.
‘It doesn’t make it any easier living with heartache of those who have lost their lives or missing.’
Leah was photographed leaving the coast guard headquarters yesterday alongside a fellow crew member.
Leah and 22-year-old on-board hostess Katja Chicken, from Germany, said as they were questioned by investigators: ‘We are alive by a miracle,’ according to Italian news agency ANSA, who reported that one of the girls sobbed as she said: ‘It was terrible.’
Other survivors included Irish woman Sasha Murray, 29, Matthew Fletcher, 41, from London, James Catfield 51, from New Zealand, Myin Htun Kyaw, 39, from Myanmar, crew member Leo Eppel and Frenchman Matthew Griffith.
On Tuesday evening two crew members, Tus Koopmans and Eaton Parker, were also named as survivors. No age or nationalities were provided.
Speaking from a hospital room in the town of Termini Imerese close to Palermo, Mr Catfied, in a state of grief and shock, could only utter one sentence.
‘We didn’t see it coming,’ he told La Repubblica.
Rescuers claimed that survivors spoke of the ship going down in ‘two minutes’ and that it appears that the yacht ‘wasn’t anchored in a safe place’ at the time of sinking.
They were rescued by crews from nearby boats including that of Karsten Borner, the captain of a sailing ship anchored near the Bayesian, who said his team struggled to keep their boat afloat when the tornado hit.
Fabio Cefalu, a fisherman in Porticello who witnessed the tragedy unfold, said he saw a waterspout – a sort of mini-tornado – that lasted about 12 minutes shortly before 4am.
At around 4.10am he said he saw a red flare go off from Bayesian but by the time he was able to reach the area about 20 minutes later the yacht had all but disappeared. ‘We found only the cushions, and a few planks floating in the water,’ he said.
