The victims of the Bayesian had “taken refuge in the same cabin” before the sinking

We know a little more about the last moments of the passengers of the Bayesian before its sinking. Last Monday, the yacht of British entrepreneur Mike Lynch sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea after being caught in a storm. As it sank, it took with it seven passengers, including the British owner and his 18-year-old daughter. The bodies of two couples, lawyers and associates, were found on board. They were all in the left part of the ship, the prosecutor said at a press conference held this weekend. The boat’s cook was found dead outside the wreck. Fifteen people, including a one-year-old baby, managed to escape the shipwreck.

Today, one of the main questions is why these seven people were unable to escape the boat at the same time as the other fifteen. While it has been shown that the boat sank to the bottom of the sea in a matter of minutes, leaving passengers with little time to react, potential human error is also at the heart of the investigation. The prosecutor has announced that the captain, crew, supervisors, the shipbuilder or others could be held responsible. The yacht’s builder said late last week that it was “one of the safest boats in the world” and that it was practically “unsinkable”. According to him, they had had a 16-minute window” to avoid tragedy.

Five of six passengers on board found in same cabin

In a press conference this weekend, Palermo fire chief Girolamo Bentivoglio gave some clarifications about the shipwreck: “The yacht apparently got stuck on the right and people tried to get across to the other side before taking refuge in their cabins.”he said. According to him, five of the six passengers were found in the same cabin, located on the left side of the boat. The sixth victim was in the next room.

Were they asleep? Did they have time to realize what was happening? Did the passengers try to escape? For the moment, the chief prosecutor of Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Cartosio, said he had not “no idea why they all ended up in the same cabin.” However, journalists asked why these passengers were not alerted or woken up. “This is precisely what we are trying to determine from the statements made during the interrogation of the survivors – a key point of the investigation, obviously.” The prosecutor announced that they were investigating potential crimes of “shipwreck by negligence and multiple negligent homicides.”

Waterspout, keel partially retracted, hatch open according to the manufacturer

Last Monday, the 56-metre-long sailboat got caught in a waterspout while it was anchored about 500 metres off the coast of Porticello, off the coast of Sicily. Sir Robert Baden Powellbuilt in 1957, which was located only 350 meters from the Bayesianreported no damage. According to the yacht’s builder, there is no doubt that the rear hatch had been left open: “It tilted 90 degrees for one reason only: because the water kept coming in. There was a six-minute gap between the time the water started coming in and the time it went down. Those who say it disappeared in a few seconds are talking nonsense.”.

Witnesses said they saw a waterspout forming during the storm. At a press conference, the prosecutor spoke of a “downburst”or a descending air current under a thunderstorm, creating strong and destructive winds on the surface. A meteorologist from the BBC said this type of phenomenon could resemble a tornado or a waterspout because the damage caused can be similar. Authorities said they were looking into how this weather event could have caused so much damage to the Bayesian.

The authorities are wondering whether the captain had taken sufficient measures while the boat was in the middle of a storm. During their visit to the wreck, the divers noticed that the keel of the latter was partially raised. However, this fin is essential for the stability of the boat. “We will establish the responsibility for each element – this will be done by the investigation, so we cannot do it prematurely”the prosecutor said at the press conference. “I think it is likely that crimes have been committed – that it could be a case of manslaughter – but we can only establish that if you give us time to investigate.”