Mike Lynch ‘died of suffocation’ in air pocket aboard sunken Bayesian superyacht

8 September 2024, 10:59

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch likely ‘died of suffocation’ after he ran out of oxygen following the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht, initial reports suggest.

A source close to the investigation revealed the tech billionaire likely suffocated – possibly in an air pocket as opposed to drowning or suffering wounds or other injuries.

Seven people died after the superyacht sunk off the coast of Sicily last month, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah.

Mr Lynch died alongside his 18-year-old daughter, the boat’s chef and four others, who were onboard the British-flagged superyacht Bayesian to celebrate his recent acquittal after a lengthy decade-long legal battle.

Initial examinations on his daughter, Hannah Lynch, remain inconclusive.

However, a source reported by Reuters revealed that medical professionals had ruled out traumas and wounds as the cause of death.

It leaves open the possibility of that the teenager, who was due to take up a place at Oxford University in September, either ran out of oxygen or drowned.

The source told the Reuters news agency that further forensic tests have now been ordered on all victims.

The results of which are expected in the coming weeks.

Read more: Bayesian yacht captain claims he ‘did everything he could’ to save passengers and ‘abandoned no one’ as he leaves Italy

Read more: Autopsies reveal cause of death of two Bayesian superyacht victims as probe into incident continues

Autopsies on four of the victims to be recovered from the wreck have so far been carried out at Palermo’s Policlinico hospital.

The bodies were found in a cabin aboard the sunken yacht, some 50m below the water’s surface, with the results showing no water was present in their lungs, according to local media.

It means there is a chance they could have been conscious as the yacht went down, La Republica said.

Of the 22 passengers and crew aboard the boat, 15 were eventually rescued, including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares.

It comes as the the captain of the doomed Bayesian superyacht which sank off the coast of Sicily did “everything he could” to save the lives of those on board.

James Cutfield, 51, was captaining the £30million superyacht when it capsized and later sunk off the Italian coast on August 19.

Now, a source close to the captain claims he “abandoned no one” aboard the vessel, after it emerged the skipper has now left the country.