The £30 million Bayesian superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily where British billionaire Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others died before their bodies were recovered
The wreckage of the Bayesian superyacht where Brit billionaire Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others died on is set to be raised from the sea bed in a bid to find any more clues about the disaster.
The Brit billionaire died alongside six others when the yacht sank during a storm off the coast of Sicily on August 19 last year. Officials in Italy are planning to pull up the superyacht wreckage in the hope they can find more answers about what happened.
The incident was being treated as suspected manslaughter. Salvage operations are set to begin in April and could take up to three weeks. When raised, the Bayesian will be taken to Termini Imerse, a nearby port, where it will be inspected. Footage from the shipwreck showed divers pushing through trashed corridors and rooms inside the ship which is currently lying on its starboard side.
Divers could be seen holding a steel tool as one opened what appeared to be a hatch on the £30 million Bayesian vessel, according to The Sun. Perini Navi boss Giovanni Costantino hit out at the crew of the Bayesian for making “mistakes” and failing to “close the doors and hatches.”
He previously told the outlet in August: “Modern sailing ships, especially high-tech ones like the Perini, are designed to be extremely safe and stable. Even in very critical conditions, if procedures are followed, a sailing yacht like the Bayesian will return to an upright position.
“However, if the ship takes on water, this stability is compromised. Where the water entered will be determined by the investigators. What is certain is that the ship took on hundreds of thousands of litres of water.”
He continued: “The crew did not handle the adverse weather conditions properly and did not follow the correct procedures to ensure safety.” An initial investigation revealed four of the victims managed to survive the sinking but died in an air pocket.
Of those 22 people onboard, 15 survived, including Mr Lynch’s wife who was rescued on an inflatable life raft. His 18-year-old daughter Hannah was the last passenger to be found.
Officials are now investigating three crew members are being investigated in Sicily after being accused of leaving open the door at the rear port side and causing water to enter the yacht and flood it. The vessel sank during a celebration of Mr Lynch’s acquittal over alleged fraud following the sale of his software firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
