Palermo Shipwreck: Autopsies of 4 Victims Reveal Nightmare – ‘They Ran Out of Oxygen in the Cabin’

Seven people lost their lives when the £30 million superyacht Bayesian, owned by tech tycoon Mike Lynch, sank off the coast of Palermo during a severe storm last month. Among the deceased were 59-year-old Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah—who was about to start her studies at Oxford University—four of his guests, and a crew member who was found dead in the early hours after the disaster.

The operation to locate and recover the bodies of the six victims trapped inside the yacht took several days. Ultimately, five bodies—those of Lynch and his guests—were found in a cabin on the port side of the boat, which sank last. Hannah Lynch was found in an adjacent cabin.

According to La Repubblica, autopsies on four of the victims have shown no water in their lungs, indicating that they were likely conscious when the yacht sank. Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Blumer, 70, his wife Judy, as well as New York lawyer Chris Morvillo and his partner Neda, showed no signs of injury, Italian media reported.

La Repubblica further revealed that autopsies found no water in the lungs, stomach, or trachea of Jonathan and Judy Blumer, as well as the Morvillo couple. Although some tests are still pending, all medical examiners agree on the type of “dry drowning” that caused their deaths.

What does this “dry drowning” mean? According to the Italian newspaper, the most plausible scenario is that the four individuals found with Mike Lynch in a cabin on the left side of the boat suffocated after the oxygen in the air pocket ran out as the yacht sank.

Based on what is known about the night of the wreck, the theory is that Angela Barciares, Lynch’s wife and CEO of the company that owned the yacht, woke up due to the storm and went up to the deck, where nine out of ten crew members had already gathered. The Bayesian was being violently rocked by the storm, with objects falling and shattering. Realizing the danger, Barciares attempted to go back down to warn her husband and daughter.

As she moved barefoot, her feet were cut by broken glass scattered on the floor. By then, water was already rushing into the yacht, making it impossible for her to reach the cabins.

Later, she was rescued by the Coast Guard, injured and in shock.

The “dry drowning” suggests that the six individuals in the cabins may have woken up, possibly from Barciares’ shouts, but were unable to reach the deck, ultimately becoming trapped in their cabins. As the air pockets within the cabins became increasingly toxic due to rising carbon dioxide levels, they died of asphyxiation before water even flooded their space.

Autopsies for Lynch, his daughter, and the yacht’s cook are scheduled for tomorrow, Friday.

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