A photo of the ill-fated Bayesian superyacht that was taken minutes before it sank appears to show that a door on the ship was closed, after it was claimed it had been left open.
The photograph, taken by a passenger aboard a neighboring yacht, contradicts accusations that the crew mistakenly left a door open and allowed water to flood the boat.
It was taken 14 minutes before the Bayesian crashed during a freak storm off the coast of Sicily, killing seven people, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Sicilian prosecutors are investigating three crew members accused of leaving the large door open at the rear port side of the 56-metre yacht.
The flooding allegedly began after strong winds and waves pushed water through the hull door.
The photograph, taken by a passenger aboard a neighboring yacht, contradicts claims that the crew mistakenly left a door open and allowed water to flood the boat.
Rescuers wait after recovering the body of Hannah Lynch off the coast of Porticello
Rescue personnel and divers operate a search on August 21 off the coast of Porticello.
However, two photographs, which will be published in an ITV documentary broadcast on Thursday, appear to show the door closed in the hours and minutes before the sinking.
The photographs were taken by passengers aboard the Sir Robert Baden Powell, a yacht that was anchored about 100 meters from the Bayesian.
Karsten Borner, the Dutch captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell, provided the photographs for the documentary and told German newspaper Der Spiegel that he was irritated by the ship’s builder’s repeated attempts to blame the crew.
Their frustration came after Giovanni Costantino, owner of the company Perini Navi that built the Bayesian in 2008, described the yacht as “unsinkable” and claimed the crew must have left doors or hatches open, allowing water in.
The head of the Italian Maritime Group blamed the crew for failing to save the seven people who died, stating: “If the 20 had been on deck, with the lifeboats in the water, the yacht would have sunk, but the 20 survived. would have saved.” .’
Borner and his crew picked up 15 survivors from the sinking yacht, including nine crew members and six passengers.
The British-flagged Bayesian superyacht (pictured) was owned by tech tycoon Mike Lynch.
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah died in the Bayesian tragedy when the superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily.
Interviewed for the ITV documentary – The Sinking of a Superyacht – How Safe Is Your Voyage?, he recalled the traumatic moments: “My first mate said, ‘She’s gone, she’s sunk,’ and I was laughing at him, Saying things like that, something big doesn’t disappear in a minute.
Italian firefighter Fabio Paoletti, who dove into the water to help find the bodies on board, said the hardest victim to find was Hannah Lynch.
‘The girl was at the end in the last room. She was short and hidden behind a mattress, so it took them longer to see her,’ he said.
Buoyancy balloons or a crane on a barge are expected to be used to lift the Bayesian, and plans are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.
Salvage expert Bertrand Sciboz believes that the second option is possible, at a cost of more than 2 million euros.
“You would need a large barge and put slings under the Bayesian’s hull and it would be rescued very slowly with a large crane on the barge,” he said, adding, “You have to be very careful to keep it intact.”