×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Tuesday
13
Jan 2026
weather symbol
Athens 11°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

Iran is preparing to execute by hanging a 26-year-old man, Erfan, for his participation in anti-government protests.

January 13, 2026

BBC to ask US court to dismiss Trump defamation lawsuit

January 13, 2026

The farmers have arrived at the Maximou Mansion – The meeting with Mitsotakis is about to begin (updated)

January 13, 2026

Marasleio students presented innovative business ideas to Sophia Zacharaki

January 13, 2026

Danish and Greenlandic Foreign Ministers meet Vance and Rubio at the White House on Wednesday

January 13, 2026

Thriller with a Cypriot flight attendant who was to board the Falcon that crashed – Detained in Turkey

January 13, 2026

Novartis case: Guilty verdict upheld on appeal for Destebasidis and Maraggelis

January 13, 2026

Drone attack on Greek-owned tankers in the Black Sea

January 13, 2026
All News

> Politics

The farmers have arrived at the Maximou Mansion – The meeting with Mitsotakis is about to begin (updated)

The Prime Minister meets with 25 farmers at 15:00 - Which measures are to be discussed - The "tough" farmers' unionists close the highway at Nikaia and Malga

January 13, 2026

Novartis case: Guilty verdict upheld on appeal for Destebasidis and Maraggelis

January 13, 2026

Marinakis calls for enforcement as blockades disrupt Greece – Blames party-backed minority for derailing talks

January 13, 2026

Open confrontation between the Association of the victims of Tempi and Karystianou: “She had to resign” – “I will leave if the assembly asks me to”

January 13, 2026

What lies behind Russia’s offensive tactics against Patriarch Bartholomew

January 13, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα