Superyacht victims' cause of death was 'death by confinement,' autopsies show: report

Four of the seven people who died in the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht last month off the coast of Sicily passed away after being trapped alive inside the ship’s cabins and suffocated, autopsies have reportedly revealed. 

New York City lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda, along with Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley’s London-based investment banking subsidiary, and his wife, Judy all died due to "death by confinement," according to forensics results, the Italian outlet La Repubblica reports.

The so-called "dry drowning" supports the hypothesis that the four were awake as the ship went down and had been desperately inhaling oxygen in a tight air bubble until it tragically ran out. They had no water in their lungs, trachea or stomach, according to the tests carried out by pathologists with the Palermo Institute of Forensic Medicine.

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Neda Morvillo and Chris Morvillo are seen in New York City in 2018. Autopsies say the couple drowned after the Bayesian superyacht sank off the coast of southern Italy last month. (Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

The four victims, along with tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch – who had organized the yacht trip to celebrate a recent legal victory – were found in a cabin on the port, or left side of the hull, after the Bayesian capsized and sank within about 16 minutes of being hit by a predawn storm on Aug. 19.

Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, was found in the next cabin, also on the port side of the hull. La Repubblica reports that Lynch’s wife attempted to save her husband and daughter but as the boat shook, she cut her bare feet on glass and fell to the ground. She could not walk for a week because of the cuts.

The ship sank tilted on its starboard side and, as the oxygen ran out, their air pockets became toxic with carbon dioxide, which ultimately led to their deaths.

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Jonathan Bloomer pictured in 2004. ( Andy Shaw/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The ship's cook, Recaldo Thomas, was found immediately next to the wreck.

Autopsies on the bodies of Lynch, his daughter and Thomas are scheduled for Friday, according to La Repubblica.

Civil protection officials said they believe the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, near the port of Porticello, where the yacht was anchored.  

The Bayesian had 22 people on board – 12 passengers and 10 crew. Fifteen people, including Lynch's wife, were rescued from the 184-foot British-flagged luxury yacht. 

Morvillo was one of Lynch’s U.S. lawyers in a fraud case involving the 2011 sale of search engine company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in an $11 billion deal that turned sour over allegations that Lynch had cooked the books to overvalue Autonomy, the AP reported. He was acquitted in June. 

Prosecutors reportedly are investigating the captain and two crew members for possible responsibility in connection with the sinking. A cause of the ship's sinking has yet to be determined.

Billionaire British tech titan Mike Lynch's body was among those recovered from the luxury superyacht. (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Giovanni Costantino, the CEO of a manufacturing company responsible for building the yacht, has blamed a series of "indescribable, unreasonable errors" by the crew for the vessel’s demise. 

Costantino told Reuters that the yacht’s crew made an "incredible mistake" of not being ready for the storm, which was included in shipping forecasts. The passengers should have been called out of their cabins and ordered to assemble at a safety point as the ship was preparing for the storm by taking measures such as pulling up the anchor, the CEO said. 

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Italian firefighter divers work at the site of a shipwreck, in Porticello, Sicily, southern Italy, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

Costantino ruled out design or construction flaws as reasons the ship sank, saying it was unlikely after 16 years of trouble-free navigation, including in more severe weather than Bayesian encountered this week.

Instead, he blamed the yacht’s crew for the "incredible mistake" of not being prepared for the storm, which was included in shipping forecasts. The passengers should have been called out of their cabins and assembled at a safety point as the ship was preparing for the storm by pulling up the anchor, the CEO said.

Additionally, doors and hatches should have been closed, and the keel should have been lowered to increase stability, among other safety measures, Costantino declared.

Fox News’ Greg Norman, Stephen Sorace and Greg Wehner, as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report.