The bodies of the dead, except for the cook, were found in cabins on the left-hand side of the 184ft 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 post-mortem examinations on four other victims – Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife, Judy, 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 of 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, should have withstood the storm and not have sunk as quickly as it did.