Autopsy suggests tycoon Mike Lynch likely died of suffocation in yacht - source
07/09/2024 17:27
PALERMO, Italy, Sept 7 (Reuters) - British tech tycoon
Mike Lynch died of suffocation after running out of oxygen, an
investigative source said, citing initial examinations carried
out on Saturday after his body was recovered from the family
yacht that sank off Sicily's coast last month.
Lynch, his daughter Hannah, 18, an onboard cook and four
guests died when the British-flagged superyacht Bayesian sank
during a severe and sudden weather event off the port of
Porticello, near Palermo, on Aug. 19.
Initial results on Hannah Lynch's body, whose examinations
were carried out on Saturday, were inconclusive, the source told
Reuters, only ruling out any traumas or wounds as the cause of
death and leaving open the possibilities she either ran out of
oxygen or drowned.
The bodies of the dead, except for the cook, were found in
cabins on the left-hand side of the 56-metre (184-feet) vessel,
where the trapped passengers may have tried to search for
remaining bubbles of air, the head of Palermo's Fire Brigade
said last month.
Preliminary results from autopsies on four other victims -
Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife
Judith, lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda - indicated
suffocation as the likely cause of death, judicial sources said
earlier this week.
Fifteen people survived, including Lynch's wife, whose
company owned the Bayesian, and the yacht's captain.
Initial examinations of the Canadian-Antiguan onboard chef
Recaldo Thomas indicated he died by drowning, the investigative
source said on Saturday.
Further forensic tests have been ordered all the victims,
with results expected in the coming weeks, the source said.
The sinking has puzzled naval experts, who said a vessel
like the Bayesian, built by high-end yacht manufacturer Perini,
which is owned by The Italian Sea Group TISGR.MI , should have
withstood the storm and not have sunk as quickly as it did.
(Reporting by Wladimir Pantaleone, writing by Elvira Pollina;
Editing by Valentina Za)
((elvira.pollina@thomsonreuters.com;))