Mike Lynch's family yacht sank off the coast of Sicily last month. (File
Palermo:
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch died of asphyxiation due to lack of oxygen, an inquest source said, citing preliminary examinations carried out on Saturday after his body was recovered from the family yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily last month.
Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, an on-board chef and four guests died when the British-flagged superyacht Bayesian sank in severe and sudden weather off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, on August 19.
Initial results from an autopsy of Hannah Lynch's body on Saturday were inconclusive, a source told Reuters. It ruled out only trauma or wounds as a cause of death and left open the possibility that she either ran out of oxygen or drowned.
The head of Palermo's fire brigade said last month that the bodies of the victims, except for the cook, were found in cabins on the port side of the 56-metre (184-foot) vessel, where trapped passengers may have been trying to find remaining air bubbles.
Preliminary autopsy results on four other victims – Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judith, lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda – indicate strangulation was the probable cause of death, legal sources said earlier this week.
Fifteen people survived, including Lynch's wife, whose company owned Bayesian, and the yacht's captain.
Initial examination results of chef Recaldo Tomas, who was on board the Canada-Antigua cruise ship, indicate he drowned, an investigator said on Saturday.
The source said all the victims have been ordered to undergo further forensic examinations, with results expected in the coming weeks.
The sinking has baffled naval experts, who said a vessel like the Bayesian, built by luxury yacht maker Perini, which is owned by The Italian Sea Group, should have weathered the storm and not sunk so quickly.
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