×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Monday
12
Jan 2026
weather symbol
Athens 7°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> World

Palermo Shipwreck: Autopsies of 4 Victims Reveal Nightmare – ‘They Ran Out of Oxygen in the Cabin’

No water was found in the lungs of four victims from the shipwreck, according to La Repubblica. This raises the horrifying possibility that they died of suffocation in air pockets filled with carbon dioxide, as suggested by the autopsies

Newsroom September 5 09:22

Seven people lost their lives when the £30 million superyacht Bayesian, owned by tech tycoon Mike Lynch, sank off the coast of Palermo during a severe storm last month. Among the deceased were 59-year-old Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah—who was about to start her studies at Oxford University—four of his guests, and a crew member who was found dead in the early hours after the disaster.

The operation to locate and recover the bodies of the six victims trapped inside the yacht took several days. Ultimately, five bodies—those of Lynch and his guests—were found in a cabin on the port side of the boat, which sank last. Hannah Lynch was found in an adjacent cabin.

According to La Repubblica, autopsies on four of the victims have shown no water in their lungs, indicating that they were likely conscious when the yacht sank. Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Blumer, 70, his wife Judy, as well as New York lawyer Chris Morvillo and his partner Neda, showed no signs of injury, Italian media reported.

La Repubblica further revealed that autopsies found no water in the lungs, stomach, or trachea of Jonathan and Judy Blumer, as well as the Morvillo couple. Although some tests are still pending, all medical examiners agree on the type of “dry drowning” that caused their deaths.

What does this “dry drowning” mean? According to the Italian newspaper, the most plausible scenario is that the four individuals found with Mike Lynch in a cabin on the left side of the boat suffocated after the oxygen in the air pocket ran out as the yacht sank.

Based on what is known about the night of the wreck, the theory is that Angela Barciares, Lynch’s wife and CEO of the company that owned the yacht, woke up due to the storm and went up to the deck, where nine out of ten crew members had already gathered. The Bayesian was being violently rocked by the storm, with objects falling and shattering. Realizing the danger, Barciares attempted to go back down to warn her husband and daughter.

As she moved barefoot, her feet were cut by broken glass scattered on the floor. By then, water was already rushing into the yacht, making it impossible for her to reach the cabins.

>Related articles

Greek salvage vessel helped prevent ecological disaster off Sitia with the sunken cargo ship “MN Kostas”

One year since the tragedy of the Bayesian: How it finally sank from the “impossible” scenario (photos)

Ancient Greek shipwreck from the 6th–5th Century BC discovered in Sicily

Later, she was rescued by the Coast Guard, injured and in shock.

The “dry drowning” suggests that the six individuals in the cabins may have woken up, possibly from Barciares’ shouts, but were unable to reach the deck, ultimately becoming trapped in their cabins. As the air pockets within the cabins became increasingly toxic due to rising carbon dioxide levels, they died of asphyxiation before water even flooded their space.

Autopsies for Lynch, his daughter, and the yacht’s cook are scheduled for tomorrow, Friday.

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#La Repubblica#Mike Lynch#Palermo#shipwreck
> More World

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Hits on Russian Lukoil oil platforms from Ukraine

January 11, 2026

In the shadow of the bribery video, Christodoulides’ wife resigns from the Independent Social Support Agency, denounces “relentless” attacks

January 11, 2026

Cartel de los Soles at the Presidential Palace of Caracas: The drug-trafficking network that Chávez set up with Sinaloa and that kept Maduro in power

January 11, 2026

Trump “weighs” a strike on Iran: Military not ready, fears of retaliation – “Foreign terrorists” kill civilians & burn mosques, Pezeshkian says

January 11, 2026

Urgent Weather Alert from the Hellenic National Meteorological Service: Severe cold wave from this afternoon – Areas where snowfall is expected

January 11, 2026

Mitsotakis’ first review for 2026: The international community cannot ignore authoritarian regimes

January 11, 2026

Bob Weir, co-founder of the Grateful Dead, dies at 78

January 11, 2026

Sports broadcasts of the day: Aris – AEK and the Real Madrid – Barcelona final stand out

January 11, 2026
All News

> Greece

Urgent Weather Alert from the Hellenic National Meteorological Service: Severe cold wave from this afternoon – Areas where snowfall is expected

A rapid deterioration of the weather is expected from Sunday afternoon, with snow in mountainous, semi-mountainous, and lowland areas of northern Greece. The Risk Assessment Committee of Civil Protection convened

January 11, 2026

Weather: Temperature plunge of up to 10 degrees from today through Tuesday – Where it will snow

January 11, 2026

Three-day cold spell hits the country with a sharp temperature drop – Where it will snow (videos)

January 10, 2026

Severe weather arriving from tomorrow with temperatures dropping by up to 10°C – where it will snow

January 10, 2026

Tornado lifts moving car into the air, moments of terror for the driver (video)

January 9, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα