Autopsies Reveal Disturbing Details About Superyacht Victims' Deaths

As the investigation into the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht continues, autopsy results have provided insight into the tragic final moments of the passengers who died in the accident. Four of the seven victims reportedly died after becoming trapped in their cabins on the $40 million, 185-foot vessel, which was caught in turbulent storms off the coast of Sicily on August 19.

According to Italian media outlet Republicthrough New York PostNew York City attorney Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda, Morgan Stanley Bank International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy all died of asphyxia. Tests conducted this week by pathologists at the Palermo Institute of Forensic Medicine showed that none of the four passengers had water in their lungs, trachea or stomach, meaning they did not drown.

Instead, they likely died when their oxygen was depleted in an air bubble they were trapped in, and the air became toxic from carbon dioxide. The cause of death for the four victims, who were found in the same cabin on the left side of the ship with British tech mogul Mike Lynch, was listed as “death by confinement.”

The body of Lynch's 18-year-old daughter Hannah was found in a side room on the left side of the boat, but the cause of death is not yet known.

Authorities believe the ship sank to the ocean floor and was on its right side, so the victims were likely awake at the time and searching for air pockets between rooms. The reports roughly match what the chairman of the company that built the ship said when he spoke to reporters last month.

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of the Italian Marine Group, told the Italian newspaper: Greenhouse Corridor that guests were not in their cabins when the storm hit, but were supposed to gather at the ship's emergency rendezvous point. Rescue efforts were hampered by debris blocking the underwater path to the cabins, where six of the seven victims were eventually discovered. The body of the ship's chef, Recaldo Thomas, was found floating in the water shortly after the ship sank.

“Guests took water while still in the cabin. All it took was a 40-degree tilt and the cabin occupants found themselves with the door at the top. Can you imagine a 60- or 70-year-old man climbing out?” Costantino speculated. “The whole thing adds up to a very long list of errors. People shouldn't be in the cabins.”

Of the 22 total passengers and crew members on board, 15 were rescued safely. The ship's captain, James Cutfield, and two other crew members are currently under investigation for possible negligence that may have contributed to the sinking.

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