Four of the seven victims aboard the Bayesian superyacht when it sank in August are believed to have died by “dry drowning,” authorities revealed Thursday.
The Bayesian luxury superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily during a storm on August 19 with 12 guests and 10 crew aboard. Autopsies performed on four of the victims revealed no water in the lung, tracheas, or stomach, a spokesperson for the yacht’s captain stated, according to CNN. This is known as an “atypical drowning” or “dry drowning.”
There is no specific definition, nor medically accepted condition known as “dry drowning.” It is used in cases where an individual’s condition worsens after a drowning rescue or when they have very little water in their lungs, CNN reported.
The Bayesian victims are thought to have found an air bubble in one of the cabins, where they likely consumed all of the oxygen before suffocating due to carbon dioxide, local media stated. (RELATED: ‘Jeffrey Epstein With The Clintons?’: Lawyer Asks Alex Jones About Pedophilia. It Goes About How You’d Expect)
The victims were said to be American attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, Morgan Stanley banker Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Anne Elizabeth Judith Bloomer. Their autopsies were carried out at the Forensic Medicine Institute of the Palermo Polyclinic hospital.
A criminal investigation for “multiple manslaughter” is ongoing, focused on the captain James Cutfield, machine engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith, all of whom worked aboard. Griffith was on watch the night of the incident. Despite the investigation, authorities say they won’t necessarily charge the men with any crimes.
The 183-foot yacht was hit by either a downburst or waterspout (overwater tornado) in the early hours of the morning. (RELATED: Wild Videos Show Waterspout Annihilating Small Island Town In Maryland)
British tech mogul Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter were also killed during the incident. Their autopsies are expected to take place on Friday. Initial reports suggest none of the victims suffered physical injuries as a result of the waterspout and subsequent sinking.
Lynch’s business partner, Stephen Chamberlain, was killed the same day the Bayesian sank after being struck by a car. Both men were acquitted of fraud charges in the U.S. in June in relation to the sale of their company, Autonomy, to Hewlett Packard. The company is still pursuing a civil suit in British Court against Autonomy for $4 billion in damages.