Rescue workers have discovered five dead bodies, including that of a tech billionaire, in a Sicily yacht wreck after it sank on August 19, 2024. According to a source, although rescue teams have spotted the fifth body, they are yet to recover it.
Rescue workers had earlier retrieved four bodies from the sea on Wednesday, August 21. Sources have also revealed that one more person is still missing as authorities strive to maintain the intensity of rescue efforts after days of search.
The passengers include British tech entrepreneur, Mike Lynch and his daughter, Hannah. Others are Jonathan Bloomer, Chairman of Morgan Stanley International, his wife, Judy Bloomer, New York lawyer Christopher Morvillo, and his wife, Neda Morvillo.
What Caused the Superyacht To Sink?
On Monday, August 19, the superyacht Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily, an island in southern Italy. The yacht, which was 56 meters long and flew the British flag, suddenly began to sink close to Porticelli.
According to local authorities, bad weather caused the yacht to sink. Ferocious thunderstorms hit the yacht at 5 a.m. According to reports, the speed of the wind resulted in an overwhelming impact that caused the boat to sink beneath the waves. It took just a minute for the boat to disappear completely from sight.
However, authorities are also investigating if other factors contributed to the mishap. They’ve been speaking to passengers and crew members who survived the accident. The local public prosecutor is seeking to determine if the crew members had left the boat’s hatches open. If this were the case, it would most likely be why the boat sank so fast.
James Cutfield, the boat’s captain who is one of the survivors, told reporters from his hospital bed that the accident happened without any sign. “We didn’t see it coming,” he said. Another survivor, Charlotte Golunski, narrated how the boat threw her into the water along with her one-year-old daughter Sophie.
She recalled that she had to muster all her might to hold her baby in the air to keep her from drowning. “It was all black around me and the only thing I could hear were the screams of others,” she said. Golunski survived alongside her baby and husband, James.
How Many People Were on the Yacht That Sank?
The yacht had 22 people on board which comprised 12 passengers and 10 crew members. These included Billionaire Mike Lynch, whom many people regard as Britain’s version of Bill Gates. Of the 22 people on board the boat, only 15 made it to safety.
People in the area were alerted to the tragedy when they noticed an increase in the boat population including those going to and fro the scene of the accident. Police officials, lifeguards, coastguards, and fire service personnel quickly swung into action.
One hour later, the rescue team found the body of one crew member, Canadian-Antiguan chef Recaldo Thomas. Thomas was in charge of cooking duties on the boat. Afterward, rescuers began to recover bodies from the remains of the Sicily yacht wreck as soon as they found it lying on the bottom of the river.
The rescue efforts had to surmount a number of challenges. Firstly, there was lots of floating debris in the narrow corridors of the remains of the Sicily yacht wreck. They had to wade through these obstructions to search for the victims.
Secondly, the boat was about 50 meters deep into the sea. For their wellbeing, divers had to swim up to the surface after every 10 minutes in the water. To assist their efforts, rescuers employed a remote-controlled robot.
The robot could operate on the seabed for up to 7 hours. The rescue team also drilled a hole through the Sicily yacht wreck by which they forced their way into the boat.
Who Owns the Yacht That Sank?
Mike Lynch was the owner of the boat. He also organized the get-together that brought some of his closest friends and associates together. Lynch was celebrating a court victory he secured in June. In the trial, the court acquitted him of charges of corporate fraud.
The tech mogul was accused of inflating the value of his software firm, Autonomy before he sold it to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011.
The case dragged on in court for nearly 13 years until June 6, 2024, when the court cleared him of the charges. Speaking to newsmen afterward, he said he was “elated” by the victory.
It’s no surprise that he planned a lavish party to celebrate the win with his friends and his lawyer. Only his wife, Angela Bacares, survived the Sicily yacht wreck. Authorities are still in search of one more missing person.
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What Happens to Human Waste on a Yacht?
If you’ve ever been worried about what happens to human waste on a yacht, you aren’t alone. The government is worried, too. Therefore, many state maritime regulations impose fines for illegal waste disposal. Illegal waste disposal means releasing untreated waste into the water.
Boaters dispose of human waste in several ways. Prominent among them is the use of holding tanks. Many boats use tanks such as the MSD III to store human waste and then pump it into an on-shore facility. The yacht could also have a Y-shaped valve that could either store the waste or release it into the water after treatment.
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