A preliminary autopsy was carried out on Saturday on the bodies of billionaire Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah, who died along with five others when their superyacht sank off the coast of Palermo. A source told Reuters that the businessman suffocated after running out of oxygen. The results of his daughter's autopsy were “inconclusive”. Further forensic tests have been ordered on all the victims, with the results expected in the coming weeks.
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch died of asphyxiation after running out of oxygen, a source close to the investigation told Reuters, citing a preliminary autopsy conducted on Saturday.
The businessman was one of seven people who lost their lives after the luxury yacht Bayesian they were travelling on sank off the coast of Sicily in late August.
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Daughter's autopsy results 'inconclusive'
On Saturday, preliminary tests were also carried out on the body of his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah Lynch. The results were inconclusive, a source told Reuters. However, the autopsy ruled out any trauma or wounds as the cause of death. This opens the window to other possible causes of death – lack of oxygen or drowning.
Meanwhile, preliminary analysis regarding Recald Thomas, Canadian-Antiguan chef, who was also on board, showed that he died from drowning, the source said.
The bodies of all the victims, except for the cook, were found in cabins under the deck on the left side of the 56-meter-long ship. As the head of the Palermo fire department argued, passengers on the cruise could have been trying to get air in this part of the boat as the yacht sank and its rooms were flooded with water.
There will be further tests
Initial autopsy results on the four people who died in the tragedy indicated strangulation as the probable cause of death, judicial sources reported earlier this week.
According to a Reuters source, further forensic tests have been ordered for all victims and the results are expected to be known in the coming weeks.
The moment the Bayesian yacht sank during a violent storm near Palermo in a recordingReuters/Sicily News
Sinking of superyacht off the coast of Sicily
The 56-meter-long Bayesian – which sailed under the British flag – sank in a few minutes in a tornado while moored off Palermo in Sicily on August 19. On the day of the tragedy, 15 of the 22 people on board were rescued.
READ THE STORY OF ONE OF THE SURVIVORS: “I called for help, but all I heard around me were screams”
Among those who died when the boat sank were – in addition to Lynch, his daughter and his cook – renowned lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife, jewelry designer Ned Morvillo, and Morgan Stanley International CEO Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy.
Fifteen people managed to get off the yacht and survived. Among them were Lynch’s wife, whose company owned Bayesian, and the yacht’s captain. Reuters notes that the ship’s sinking surprised naval experts, who said a ship like this should have survived the storm and not sunk so quickly.
Main image source: PAP/EPA