Italy - Sailing yacht sank off Italian coast, 15 rescued, 7 missing, 19 August 2024

[Yellowbelly]

The law only applies after doing a deep dive if the ship/yacht/boat is being driven, not if docked/ parked somewhere- then only the people on watch should be under the alcohol level, whilst on watch. The captain can be found ,if drunk, that the alcohol was an aggravating factor if an accident occurs. But as none of the crew were tested it’s never going to be relevant in this case, although the knowledge of how drunk the passengers were and how well the crew reacted due to that will be a factor that is considered I’m sure. If the yacht was registered in Italy- none of that applies as you and the crew are allowed to drink on yachts- a little loophole in their laws

To quote from the Marine Guidance Note - "It is an offence for a professional seafarer to be impaired by drink (or drugs) whilst on duty on board a ship or at any time on board a vessel if they might be required to undertake emergency duties to protect the safety of passengers."

Though given that the Italian authorities didn't test the crew for drink and drugs, if any of them were on the sauce they got away with it.

 

[RedHaus]

To quote from the Marine Guidance Note - "It is an offence for a professional seafarer to be impaired by drink (or drugs) whilst on duty on board a ship or at any time on board a vessel if they might be required to undertake emergency duties to protect the safety of passengers."

Though given that the Italian authorities didn't test the crew for drink and drugs, if any of them were on the sauce they got away with it.

...unless, through their investigation, presumably in part by interviewing surviving crew and passengers, perhaps numerous times with different angles and intelligence, prosecutors ferret out witnessed drinking or drugging by any crew members...

 

[RedHaus]

Very sad Reuters news today (7-9). But not unexpected.

1. "...British tech tycoon Mike Lynch died of suffocation after running out of oxygen..."

2. "...Initial results on Hannah Lynch's body... were inconclusive... 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."

3. "...Initial examinations of the Canadian-Antiguan onboard chef Recaldo Thomas indicated he died by drowning..."

4. "...Further forensic tests have been ordered all the victims, with results expected in the coming weeks..."

5. "...The sinking has puzzled naval experts, who said a vessel like the Bayesian... should have withstood the storm and not have sunk as quickly as it did."

IMO

 

[Yellowbelly]

Very sad Reuters news today (7-9). But not unexpected.

1. "...British tech tycoon Mike Lynch died of suffocation after running out of oxygen..."

2. "...Initial results on Hannah Lynch's body... were inconclusive... 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."

3. "...Initial examinations of the Canadian-Antiguan onboard chef Recaldo Thomas indicated he died by drowning..."

4. "...Further forensic tests have been ordered all the victims, with results expected in the coming weeks..."

5. "...The sinking has puzzled naval experts, who said a vessel like the Bayesian... should have withstood the storm and not have sunk as quickly as it did."

IMO

So that's five of the passengers who are confirmed to have suffocated rather than drowned. As I recall, all were found in the same cabin. How long do we think that such an air pocket would have lasted before the oxygen ran out? Might they still have been alive on the morning of the sinking when the first divers went down? Not that there was ever any realistic chance of rescue as the divers could only spend 10 minutes at the wreck on each dive and they had to try and pick their way into the yacht without putting their own lives in danger.

 

[RedHaus]

So that's five of the passengers who are confirmed to have suffocated rather than drowned. As I recall, all were found in the same cabin. How long do we think that such an air pocket would have lasted before the oxygen ran out? Might they still have been alive on the morning of the sinking when the first divers went down? Not that there was ever any realistic chance of rescue as the divers could only spend 10 minutes at the wreck on each dive and they had to try and pick their way into the yacht without putting their own lives in danger.

Right, @Yellowbelly. Many things haunt me about how all 7 perished.

I try not to ponder the question you pose about the 5 who apparently huddled, sharing a last air pocket, but I have. There is nothing more that could likely have been done to rescue them. So it is a moot question. That is, other than the impact it may have on sentencing for any criminal wrongdoing by the crew - the amount of human suffering their actions or inaction may have caused. I just hope their suffering was brief.

As for HL, I still can't figure out why she died alone while her father was possibly down the hallway with others. There has to have been some major impediment to getting her to leave her stateroom - unable to hear behind a locked door because she wore a noise cancelling device and/or had taken sleeping pills? Too much debris or water blocking the way for anyone to get to her door? I just have to wonder if she died in her sleep - could that have caused her autopsy to be inconclusive?

But the death that haunts me the most is RT's. While invesigators may know by now what his movements were during those critical 10 minutes, based on interviews of survivors, my darkest fear is he was alive in the water while others piled onto the inflatable life raft and was somehow missed. That may be total fantasy in my mind, as the survivors may have reported seeing his lifeless body in the water. But if not, when did RT drown? Again, I truly hope his suffering was brief.

May they all rest in peace. And may this be my only post discussing their deaths.

All IMHO.

 

[bmacmillan1]

Right, @Yellowbelly. Many things haunt me about how all 7 perished.

I try not to ponder the question you pose about the 5 who apparently huddled, sharing a last air pocket, but I have. There is nothing more that could likely have been done to rescue them. So it is a moot question. That is, other than the impact it may have on sentencing for any criminal wrongdoing by the crew - the amount of human suffering their actions or inaction may have caused. I just hope their suffering was brief.

As for HL, I still can't figure out why she died alone while her father was possibly down the hallway with others. There has to have been some major impediment to getting her to leave her stateroom - unable to hear behind a locked door because she wore a noise cancelling device and/or had taken sleeping pills? Too much debris or water blocking the way for anyone to get to her door? I just have to wonder if she died in her sleep - could that have caused her autopsy to be inconclusive?

But the death that haunts me the most is RT's. While invesigators may know by now what his movements were during those critical 10 minutes, based on interviews of survivors, my darkest fear is he was alive in the water while others piled onto the inflatable life raft and was somehow missed. That may be total fantasy in my mind, as the survivors may have reported seeing his lifeless body in the water. But if not, when did RT drown? Again, I truly hope his suffering was brief.

May they all rest in peace. And may this be my only post discussing their deaths.

All IMHO.

A sudden thought struck me - I wonder if RF could swim. He was the chef and his job was not on the actual operating of the boat. Or maybe that is a pre-requisite for the entire crew to be able to know how to swim.

 

[ItalyReader]

Right, @Yellowbelly. Many things haunt me about how all 7 perished.

I try not to ponder the question you pose about the 5 who apparently huddled, sharing a last air pocket, but I have. There is nothing more that could likely have been done to rescue them. So it is a moot question. That is, other than the impact it may have on sentencing for any criminal wrongdoing by the crew - the amount of human suffering their actions or inaction may have caused. I just hope their suffering was brief.

As for HL, I still can't figure out why she died alone while her father was possibly down the hallway with others. There has to have been some major impediment to getting her to leave her stateroom - unable to hear behind a locked door because she wore a noise cancelling device and/or had taken sleeping pills? Too much debris or water blocking the way for anyone to get to her door? I just have to wonder if she died in her sleep - could that have caused her autopsy to be inconclusive?

But the death that haunts me the most is RT's. While invesigators may know by now what his movements were during those critical 10 minutes, based on interviews of survivors, my darkest fear is he was alive in the water while others piled onto the inflatable life raft and was somehow missed. That may be total fantasy in my mind, as the survivors may have reported seeing his lifeless body in the water. But if not, when did RT drown? Again, I truly hope his suffering was brief.

May they all rest in peace. And may this be my only post discussing their deaths.

All IMHO.

Re HL and dying in sleep - wouldn’t she wake up when water touched her?
Re RT I’ve been wondering if possibly MOO he was knocked unconscious by something and then drowned

 

[Yellowbelly]

So, I tried to look up how long the air pocket might have lasted myself, and discovered something else. At a depth of 50m the air would be sufficiently pressurised as to produce nitrogen narcosis in those breathing it. The effect on the victims at that depth would have been similar to the effects of drinking three martinis.

Nitrogen narcosis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[ItalyReader]

So, I tried to look up how long the air pocket might have lasted myself, and discovered something else. At a depth of 50m the air would be sufficiently pressurised as to produce nitrogen narcosis in those breathing it. The effect on the victims at that depth would have been similar to the effects of drinking three martinis.

Nitrogen narcosis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This is very interesting. We can hope that it had this effect - “At its most benign, narcosis results in relief of anxiety – a feeling of tranquillity and mastery of the environment”

 

[Ruthbullock]

A sudden thought struck me - I wonder if RF could swim. He was the chef and his job was not on the actual operating of the boat. Or maybe that is a pre-requisite for the entire crew to be able to know how to swim.

I’m sure he will have had to be able to swim, but in the dark in a storm, with nothing to hold onto and perhaps initially submerged when falling off, panic and disorientation can set in, as well as the initial swallowing of water causing panic.

 

[ItalyReader]

This for some reason hasn’t made the English language news yet as far as I can tell. I’ve been waiting but for now I’ll post the Italian article.
It says Hannah in addition to either drowning or suffocating had a head injury. The cause of which is to be investigated.

Naufragio Bayesian: annegata o soffocata anche la figlia del magnate Lynch, ma ha un trauma alla testa

Eseguita l'ultima autopsia sui corpi delle 7 vittime del naufragio di Porticello. Per chiarire la causa della morte e anche della ferita sui resti di Hannah Lynch, 18 anni, serviranno altri accertamenti. Potrebbe essere caduta o aver sbattuto da qualche parte durante il tentativo di mettersi in...

www.palermotoday.it

 

[RedHaus]

This for some reason hasn’t made the English language news yet as far as I can tell. I’ve been waiting but for now I’ll post the Italian article.
It says Hannah in addition to either drowning or suffocating had a head injury. The cause of which is to be investigated.

Naufragio Bayesian: annegata o soffocata anche la figlia del magnate Lynch, ma ha un trauma alla testa

Eseguita l'ultima autopsia sui corpi delle 7 vittime del naufragio di Porticello. Per chiarire la causa della morte e anche della ferita sui resti di Hannah Lynch, 18 anni, serviranno altri accertamenti. Potrebbe essere caduta o aver sbattuto da qualche parte durante il tentativo di mettersi in...

www.palermotoday.it

Thank you, @ItalyReader.

That might explain why HL remained in her stateroom despite what we presume were attempts by her father and others to rouse her in those terrifying moments. If she had sustained a head injury, perhaps she was unconscious. That may also explain the inconclusive autopsy results with respect to cause of death. So sad.

 

[Dotta]

• An elite Italian unit is sending divers down to investigate the Bayesian's wreck
• The vessel sank on August 19, killing seven including owner Mike Lynch
• The Comsubin unit will scour for electronic equipment including CCTV

Lynch's yacht, the Bayesian,
(pictured)
is currently lying more than 160ft below the waters surrounding Porticello, Sicily

https://twitter.com/x/status/1834238981367562547

 

[Dotta]

"The internal video surveillance system of the Bayesian has been recovered.

Navy divers have found the device that could provide key images to understand how the luxury superyacht sank in Porticello on August 19."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1834578669618262071

 

[PrairieWind]

The internal video surveillance is recovered? That might be some pretty horrific video.

 

[bmacmillan1]

The internal video surveillance is recovered? That might be some pretty horrific video.

Wondering if the recorder was working and on during the whole time.

 

[PrairieWind]

Wondering if the recorder was working and on during the whole time.

And where cameras were. I assume there is one in the bridge area, so that will be helpful. But are there cameras in the below deck passage way? I assume there are not cameras in the cabins, but even the hallway could show a pretty tragic scene developing.

 

[Dotta]

More details...

"The highly specialized divers are combing the wreck
on behalf of prosecutors investigating the sinking.

Late on Thursday, they recovered:
- parts of the deck,
- computer material,
- video surveillance systems,
- hard drives
- and various other equipment,
the source said.

The electronic devices will be sent to specialized labs outside of Sicily to check their condition and possibly recover data.

Daniele Governale, a coast guard official in Palermo, said
the divers were using a hyperbaric chamber that allowed them to make repeated dives of up to 40 minutes.

The coast guard took underwater images with a remotely operated vehicle
that will help draw up a plan to salvage the yacht."

Italian divers recover video equipment from Mike Lynch’s sunken yacht

Italian Navy divers have recovered video surveillance equipment from the superyacht that sank off Sicily last month, killing British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and six other people, a source close to the matter said on Friday.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[vls12345]

Much respect to all the investigators and especially the divers. It takes a lot of skill, planning, and dedication to do what they are doing. Imo.

 

[RedHaus]

And where cameras were. I assume there is one in the bridge area, so that will be helpful. But are there cameras in the below deck passage way? I assume there are not cameras in the cabins, but even the hallway could show a pretty tragic scene developing.

Right. Albeit likely tragic footage, any CCTV of the stairway down to the passenger statesrooms and the hallway between statesrooms could yield important data for investigators as to the extent of crew efforts to get passengers above deck and also when they initiated those efforts during the fateful storm (including 'fire' alarms).

I'd also hope, in addition to the bridge and the aft control room, that there is CCTV available for the sides of the hull (e.g. status of vents, portholes, hatches), and the Saloon and decks, so investigators can see what the crew was doing and when, as well as the yacht's conditions.

I'm still baffled why the Watchman was gathering cushions and moving plants at ANY point during the crisis, let alone after he woke the Captain when the wind got to 20 knots. Presuming his recollection is accurate, IMO, at the least it shows a serious underestimation by the crew of the storm's possible fierceness (there appears to have been weather alerts for 18-8 that storms could be unusually unpredictable and damaging); at the most, some level of negligence by not urgently prioritizing passenger safety.

I am glad this level of forensic investigation is underway. Hopefully the victims' families, the yachting community, and the public will know the truth about what caused this tragedy some day.

IMO