Of the seven passengers killed in the Bayesian superyacht wreck last month, reports indicate that four individuals were trapped alive, inside the cabins as the ship sunk.
According to the NY Post, recent tests suggested that "dry drowning" was the cause of death for four of the passengers. The Bayesian, which wrecked in a storm off the coast of Sicily, was carrying some important passengers. Namely, it was lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda, as well as Stanley Morgan Bank International chair Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who were trapped in cabins, and died after the ship had sunk.
Autopsies revealed that these four particular passengers did not have water in their lungs, stomachs or tracheas. Thus, they did not drown in the seawater on August 19th. Rather, the four would have died of asphyxiation. At some point, the air bubble they would have huddled in, would have ran out of oxygen, and became toxic with carbon dioxide. Soon thereafter, the four would have passed. Thus, their deaths were ruled as "due to confinement," rather than traditional drowning.
Several Passengers Aboard the Bayesian Superyacht Were Alive As it Sunk
The Morvillos, as well as the Bloomers, were found in the same cabin as billionaire, and yacht owner, Mike Lynch. Lynch's 18-year-old daughter was found in the next-door room. All five were in rooms on the left side of the hull. The ship was found to have laid to rest on its right side. Such suggests that the victims were moving away from the flooding waters. They would have done so in search of air pockets. Tragically, those pockets would have become toxic very quickly.
Angela Bacares, who is Lynch's wide and the mother of their deceased daughter, had reportedly tried to make it down to the cabins to warn the passengers of the danger. Apparently, Bacares stepped on broken glass as she made her way toward the cabins. She was unable to make it to the cabins in time, as they quickly filled with water.
Bacares did survive, along with fourteen other passengers on the Bayesian that fateful night.
