Passengers on board doomed Bayesian yacht frantically scrambled for last air pockets as boat sank
PASSENGERS on board the doomed Bayesian superyacht frantically scrambled for the last air pockets as the boat sank.
British tech mogul Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among six people recovered after the luxury vessel sank near Porticello at about 5am local time on Monday.
The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht, was recovered at the scene on Monday.
Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were also recovered from the wreckage.
Prosecutors have since opened a manslaughter and shipwreck inquiry without naming any suspects.
On Saturday, they pieced together the horrifying final minutes on board the sinking £30million vessel.
And for the first time, emergency service workers and divers also discussed in full the complicated five-day rescue attempt that took place 160 feet below the waters near Porticello, Sicily.
Divers from the specialised fire brigade cave rescue team described in dramatic detail the extraordinary challenges they faced more than 50m below the surface.
The 30 divers were only allowed to visit the seafloor for 12-minute bursts, every day from sunrise until sunset.
A few of the divers were also participating in the doomed Costa Concordia liner’s 2012 recovery.
The head of the Palermo fire department and member of the divers’ rescue squad, Bentivoglio Fiandra, described how the Bayesian sank stern-first before rolling onto its right side.
He explained: “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.”
In the first cabin on the left, the divers discovered five bodies; in the third chamber on the left, they discovered Hannah’s.
The fact that everything was on its side in the boat required the divers to “recalibrate,” Mr Fiandra said.
Rescuers also had to get used to debris floating around and mirrors reflecting their torch lights back at them.
He explained: “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.”
Giuseppe Frison, Head of the Department of the Fire Fighters’ Divers, leading the cave divers, told the Daily Mail:
“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.”
YACHT PROBE
It comes as the captain and crew of sunk superyacht Bayesian are facing a manslaughter and homicide probe after seven on board died including Brit tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter.
Chief Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said the victims would have been asleep when the freak weather struck at around 5am local time on Monday last week, leaving them unable to escape.
It was also revealed that the crew and captain were not tested for alcohol or drug use after the sinking and have no legal requirement to stay in Sicily.
At the Termini Imerese Courthouse in Palermo, Mr Cartosio said there may have been “behaviours that were not perfectly in order with regard to the responsibility everybody had”.
He added: “There could be in fact the question of homicide. But this is the beginning of the inquiry, we cannot exclude anything at all.”
Mr Cartosio added one line of inquiry was whether the crew attempted to raise the alarm with passengers before getting on the lifeboat and escaping.
He vowed to “discover how much they (the crew) knew and to what extent all the people (passengers) were warned.”
He said: “We will establish each element’s (crew) responsibility. For me, it is probable that offences were committed — that it could be a case of manslaughter.”
The prosecutor added that Captain James Cutfield had been “extremely cooperative” during questioning and will be quizzed further.