Reason for Sicily Yacht Sinking Revealed After 7 People Died

At around 4:06 a.m., the wind suddenly increased to more than 70 knots (81 mph), causing an awning above the boat to rip and fall from the left side of the boat to the right. The boat then turned 90 degrees on its side “taking less than 15 seconds to do so,” which is when “people, furniture, and loose items fell across the deck” of the boat.

Meanwhile, two passengers in their room below deck had to use "the furniture drawers" in their room "as an improvised ladder to exit the space, escaping along the internal walls of the central alleyway and climbing out into the saloon area," per the report.

Until that point there was “no indication of flooding inside Bayesian,” but once “water came in over the [right side] rails,” water “entered the internal spaces” of the yacht “within seconds,” officials found.

During the incident, many of the crew helped lift passengers out of the capsized boat before they eventually entered the water as the vessel continued sinking. Once in the water, a member of the crew “instructed the guests and crew present there to swim clear of [the yacht].”

As survivors collectively gathered in the water, the boat’s chief officer swam over and released a life raft from the sinking ship. Around 4:24 a.m., the group inflated the life raft and boarded it. 

About 20 minutes later, a crew member fired a flare into the air and the 15 survivors were rescued by a nearby ship called Sir Robert Baden Powell.

As a result of the tragedy, seven of the boat’s passengers—billionaire tech mogul Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, passenger Christopher Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo and the yacht’s chef Recaldo Thomas—sadly died.

As the MAIB continue their investigation, the organization stated in their interim report, “There is the possibility that new evidence may become available that might alter the circumstances as depicted in this report."