A crew member on board Mike Lynch’s Bayesian yacht has opened up on the moment passengers were ‘thrown into the water’.
Seven of the 22 passengers and crew on board the 56-metre British-flagged luxury yacht died after the ship sank at around 5.00am local time last week (19 August).
This was after the boat came into contact with a tornado, around half-a-mile off the coast of Porticello when it went down.
Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo and chef Recaldo Thomas all died.
Businessman Lynch – dubbed the ‘British Bill Gates’ after founding software company Autonomy in 1996 – was cleared of conducting fraud on an $11 billion (£8.64 billion) sale to US firm Hewlett Packard.
Engineer Tim Parker Eaton, sailor Matthew Griffith, and the ship’s captain James Cutfield are all under investigation by Italian authorities for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges.
Mike Lynch was one of the seven who died (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
“The profile of their possible responsibilities is still unclear, as the investigation has just started,” their lawyer Mario Scopesi said.
According to Italian news agency Ansa, Griffiths spoke about what happened on the day.
“I woke up the captain when the wind was at 23 mph. He gave orders to wake everyone else,” the outlet quoted Griffiths as saying.
“The ship tilted and we were thrown into the water. Then we managed to get back up and tried to rescue those we could.
“We were walking on the walls [of the boat]. We saved who we could, Cutfield also saved the little girl and her mother,” he added, whilst referring to surviving passengers Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter.
Seven bodies were recovered (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah joined parents on board the sinking ship, including the businessman’s wife Angela Bacares who survived.
This comes after Hannah’s sister Esme, 21, issued a heartbreaking tribute to her late sibling.
Esme said: “No matter what, she brought boundless love to me.
“She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me.
“And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals. She is my little angel, my star.”
“Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy,” a statement on the family’s behalf also added.
“They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue.”
