The wife of tech mogul Mike Lynch did not want to leave the scene of his sinking yacht without her husband and their teenage daughter before both were later confirmed dead, according to a captain who helped rescue survivors during the storm in Sicily.
Angela Bacares was so frantic to find her family that she hesitated to get medical help after she got out of the Bayesian during a wild storm that sank her, Karsten Borner told People Magazine.
“[Bacares] she didn’t want to leave because her husband and daughter were still below,” said Borner, who helped rescue survivors after witnessing the tragedy from his boat, the Sir Robert Baden Powell.
“She was picked up shortly after because I asked the coast guard to pick her up as I thought she needed medical attention. Then, over the next two, three hours –” [I] I don’t know exactly how much later – the Coast Guard came and the rest of the Bayesian people left with them.
Lynche’s wife was among 15 people rescued from the 184-foot luxury yacht on August 19 after a sudden tornado-like storm of water hit the superyacht, causing it to sink. Others rescued included a mother and her 1-year-old baby.
It would take days to find the bodies of the seven people who died, including tech mogul Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Borner said he noticed the weather deteriorating rapidly around 3 a.m., when his ship and Bayesian were the only ones anchored off the coast of Porticello in Sicily.
“When things calmed down and the storm calmed down a bit and the wind dropped a little bit, we were looking around and we couldn’t see the Bayesian anymore,” Borner told the magazine.
“We checked the AIS [automatic identification system]and we could no longer see the Bayesian. “Two passengers and two crew members saw what looked like a whale in the water and then realized it was the overturned ship,” he said.
“A moment later, I saw a triangle in the sea in a split second the sky was lit up by lightning and that must have been the bow of the ship as it sank over the edge.”
After seeing the Bayesian sink, Borner and his first mate boarded a smaller boat, called a tender, and headed to where the Bayesian had been.
“At first we found things floating in the water like pillows, chairs and other things,” said Borner. “And then we saw a flashing light. This was a life raft with a light on top. And they also waved us with a torch.â€
“So we went there and then we found the crew and some of the passengers – 15 people in a 12-person dinghy, including a small baby,” he added.
What you need to know after a tornado sinks the Bayesian yacht off the coast of Sicily:
- A superyacht capsized off the coast of Sicily after a tornado hit the area early Monday, killing seven passengers.
- British tech mogul Mike Lynch was identified as one of the bodies pulled from the wreckage. His teenage daughter, Hannah, was the last to recover.
- Lynch – known as “Britain’s Bill Gates” – had invited guests from Clifford Chance, a law firm representing him, and Invoke Capital, his company, on the trip, according to the Telegraph.
- Security camera footage shot from 650 meters from where Bayesian drowned on Monday shows him disappearing.
- A rare and unexpected “black swan” weather event may have led to the rapid demise of the Bayesian, marine experts say.
Borner and his crew picked up the survivors, providing first aid, dry clothes and blankets to those on the raft.
Survivors also told Borner that there were other missing passengers, which caused the tender to be sent back.
“They looked around in the sea and obviously didn’t find anything,” Borner said.
Other victims included the ship’s cook, Ricardo Thomas, New York City attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda; and Morgan Stanley executive Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy.
The exact cause of the yacht’s sinking remains unknown, however, Italian prosecutors are investigating whether the actions of Captain James Cutfield, 51, may have led to the tragedy.
Under maritime law, the captain of a ship takes full responsibility for the safety of the ship, its crew and all passengers.
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