ACCIDENT
Why did Bayesian sink so fast?
August 23, 2024 - Prosecutors investigating the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht have opened an inquiry into culpable shipwreck and manslaughter as they consider a new freak weather theory.
The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long superyacht, was carrying 22 people and anchored off the port of Porticello when it was hit by a fierce storm, now believed to be a downburst, in which winds plummet down from a storm cloud and spread unpredictably outwards on hitting the surface, at speeds of up to 150km/h. Several aircraft are known to have be downed by a freak event of this kind, which usually last just minutes.
Seven people, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah, were killed when it capsized.
Investigators are looking at how the vessel filled with water and sank so quickly and suspect a critical hatch somewhere on the vessel was left open. One such lead is the apparently missing tender vessel, a pleasure craft usually boarded by the guests from the stern door, which may have been left open. The retractable keel was also found to have been partially raised, decreasing the yacht’s stability.
- Downbursts (National Weather Service)
- Bayesian sinking: The key questions for investigators (BBC)
- Questions for Investigators Trying to Unravel Mystery of Luxury Yacht’s Sinking (New York Times)
- Terrifying videos show giant waterspouts lashing Italian coastlines on the same day as Bayesian yacht disaster as experts reveal Med has been 'turned into petrol' by wave of searing 40C heatwaves (Daily Mail)