Mystery Surrounds Sinking of Mike Lynch's Family Yacht

Four of the victims from the sinking of tech tycoon Mike Lynch's yacht off Sicily appear to have died from suffocation due to lack of oxygen, officials said. Autopsies indicated that the deceased, including prominent figures, were trapped in the vessel, with further forensic tests pending.

Initial examinations of four of the victims who perished when British tech tycoon Mike Lynch's family yacht sank off Sicily last month indicate suffocation due to oxygen deprivation aboard the vessel, judicial sources revealed on Thursday.

Lynch, his daughter Hannah, an onboard cook, and four guests, including notable figures like Morgan Stanley International's chairman Jonathan Bloomer, died when the British-flagged 56-meter superyacht Bayesian sunk during a severe storm near Palermo on Aug. 19.early autopsy results on Bloomer, his wife Judy, lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda suggested they had been trapped, leading to suffocation.

More comprehensive forensic tests are expected in the coming weeks, while further autopsies on Mike Lynch and cook Recaldo Thomas are slated for Friday, followed by Hannah Lynch on Saturday. The dead, except the cook, were found in cabins on the boat's left, possibly searching for air pockets. Palermo's Fire Brigade head mentioned last month. Captain James Cutfield and crew members Tim Parker Eaton and Matthew Griffith, currently under investigation for potential manslaughter and shipwreck, maintain they did everything possible to save those on board.

Naval experts express confusion over the rapid sinking, noting the Bayesian, built by Perini under The Italian Sea Group, should have withstood the storm longer.

(With inputs from agencies.)