The body of the seventh and last person missing in the sinking of the yacht “Bayesian” was found this Friday, August 23 after five days of searching. Two investigations have been opened to shed light on the causes of the tragedy that occurred off the coast of Sicily.
None of the people who disappeared when the sailboat “Bayesian” sailed on Monday, August 19 off the coast of Palermo, Sicily, survived. The bodies of the seven people who sank with the boat were found near or inside the wreck, at a depth of 50 meters: the first a few hours after the tragedy, five others during the day of Wednesday, August 21 and the last this Friday, August 23 after five days of searching. The owner of the luxury sailboat, businessman Mike Lynch, nicknamed the “British Bill Gates” and his 18-year-old daughter, Hanna, are among the victims.
If seven people died, fifteen others were found safe and sound after the sailboat sank. The death toll from the shipwreck has been determined and all the missing persons have been found, the time has now come for explanations. Two investigations have been opened: one criminal by the prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio of the city of Termini Imerese located about twenty kilometers from Porticello where the shipwreck took place, and the other administrative and led by the Maritime Directorate of Palermo. If the shipwreck occurred after a waterspout, the question of potential human errors arises.
What happened this Monday, August 19, off the coast of Palermo?
It was around 5am on Monday 19th August when the 56-metre British-flagged sailing yacht “Bayesian” sank after being hit by a waterspout, a highly dangerous weather phenomenon characterised by a rotating column of air and water. There were twelve passengers and ten crew members on board, the majority of whom were British.
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, the owner of the sunken boat, nicknamed the “British Bill Gates,” had organized a cruise aboard his super-sailing boat to celebrate with his relatives, several of his employees and his lawyers, a party after being acquitted in a fraud case in the United States. Thus, among the other people still wanted are Chris Morvillo, the partner lawyer of the law firm Clifford Chance and his wife, as well as Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of the board of directors of Morgan Stanley International and his wife.
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13:12 – Two investigations opened after the shipwreck in Sicily
An investigation has been opened “for negligent shipwreck” by the prosecutor of the city of Termini Imerese, not far from the site of the shipwreck, according to the Italian daily Corriere Della Serra. At the same time, the British media The Guardian indicates that another investigation has been opened by the port authority to determine whether all safety measures were taken by the crew of the sailboat.
13:00 – The last person missing during the shipwreck has been found
She was the seventh and last person reported missing after the sinking of the sailboat “Bayesian” off the coast of Sicily. Hanna, the daughter of businessman Mike Lynch and owner of the boat that sank, was found dead this Friday, August 23, on the fifth day of searches. With this discovery, the death toll from the shipwreck rises to seven: those of Mike Lynch, his wife, two couples of friends of the businessman and the chef of the sailboat.