Italian authorities have launched an investigation to ascertain if open hatches left by crew members contributed to the dramatic sinking of tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht. The luxury sailboat Bayesian was moored off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, Italy, when an unexpected waterspout struck the area just before 5 a.m. on Monday, causing the vessel to be severely damaged and sink quickly.
Of the 22 people on board, 15 were rescued by nearby ships. Unfortunately, the yacht's chef died, and six people, including British tech billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, are still missing and are believed to be still trapped in their cabins or already dead.
New Theory That Could Lead to Sinking
Among the survivors is Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, 57, who, according to the Daily Mirror, is in a state of "shock and sadness" as the search for her husband, daughter, and four others continues into its third day.
Experts on the scene indicated that one of the initial focuses of the official investigation, led by prosecutors in nearby Termini Imerese, will be whether the yacht's crew properly secured the access hatches before the storm hit.
The investigation will examine whether the crew took the necessary precautions given the weather forecasts and if any crew members might face criminal charges.
In the meantime, divers, who are working to locate the six missing passengers, have managed to break through a 3cm-thick porthole with help from a local blacksmith experienced in boat repairs.
The blacksmith crafted special jacks for the divers, allowing them to access the hull and common areas of the vessel through the glass window. However, they have yet to reach the cabins due to obstacles, as reported by Italian media.
An engineer has suggested that the missing passengers might still be alive in air pockets 164 feet below the surface. This has intensified the urgency for divers, who can only stay underwater for ten minutes per dive due to the depth, as they race against time.
Race Against Time
Sailing expert Sam Jefferson, editor of Sailing Today magazine, also suggested that open hatches and doors may have played a role in the swift sinking of Mr. Lynch's superyacht. "I would have said that the boat got hit very hard by the wind, it was pinned over on its side," he said.
"I imagine all the doors were open because it was hot, so there were enough hatches and doors open that it filled with water very quickly and sank like that."
Andrea Ratti, a nautical design professor at Milan Polytechnic University, stated that a vessel the size of the Bayesian would sink so rapidly only if it took on a substantial amount of water.
He said that portholes, windows, or other openings might have been left unsealed, allowing water to enter.
School friends of the missing Hannah are anxiously awaiting news of her safe return, while her esteemed Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, is reportedly "in shock" following the disappearance of its former student.
Hannah had recently finished her A-Levels and secured a spot to study English at Oxford before the incident.
The Italian coastguard has assured that it is continuing the search, despite acknowledging that a positive outcome after nearly two days seems "difficult to imagine."
Experts believe the ship sank after its mast, which stands at an impressive 246 feet—one of the tallest in the world—broke during the violent incident and caused the vessel to tilt, surpassing the 'down-flooding angle.'
Among the 15 survivors is a one-year-old British baby named Sofia, who was kept afloat by her mother, 36-year-old Charlotte Golunski.
Golunski, an Oxford graduate and senior associate at Invoke, also survived by battling to keep her child from drowning.
Another survivor is Angela Bacares, Lynch's wife, who is now reportedly recovering from her injuries in a wheelchair.
She recounted that the first indication of the unusual waterspout that led to the sinking of the luxury sailboat Bayesian was a "slight tilt" that woke her. Bacares told La Repubblica that she and her husband were awakened at 4 a.m. when the boat suddenly tilted.
At first, they were not overly concerned, but she got up to investigate. The situation quickly escalated as glass shattered, causing chaos on board.
She suffered abrasions on her feet—likely from walking on broken glass during the sinking—which have left her unable to walk and requiring a wheelchair. She also has bandages on other parts of her body, according to La Repubblica.
Another survivor is Ayla Ronald, 36, a lawyer from Clifford Chance who was part of the successful legal team invited to sail with Lynch, as reported by her father, Lin.
