Chilling 'fatalities' text sent by passenger aboard doomed Bayesian yacht
Ayla Ronald, a 36 year old lawyer, was pulled from the water in a dramatic rescue after the 643-ft yacht 'Bayesian' sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday evening
In a harrowing superyacht disaster off the coast of Sicily, a 36-year-old lawyer who managed to survive messaged her father saying "there were deaths".
A desperate search continues for six individuals still missing from the yacht Bayesian, which capsized on Monday amidst stormy weather. This group includes British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter, but as time ticks on, hope is dwindling for those potentially trapped in the underwater wreck.
The survivor, lawyer Ayla Ronald, informed her distressed father through a message that there had been fatalities. He told the press: "I have texted my daughter and she hasn't given me any updates about missing personnel or saved personnel."
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He further shared with the Telegraph: "She has only said to me there are deaths, and she and her partner are alive."
Specialist cave divers kept up their efforts on Tuesday evening, braving the deep to scour the submerged remains of the vessel. They're holding onto the slim chance of discovering the remaining passengers, including entrepreneur Lynch and his teenage daughter Hannah, possibly shielded by life-saving air pockets in the belly of the yacht now lying around 165ft below sea level, reports the Mirror.
Rescue teams are battling a "world of objects" that's hampering their efforts to reach rooms in a sunken vessel, with divers having a mere ten-minute window to scour the area before needing air. Tech tycoon Mr Lynch, who launched Autonomy back in 1996 and bagged an OBE for his services to enterprise in 2006, was recently cleared of pulling off a colossal fraud during an $11 billion (£8.64 billion) deal with Hewlett Packard.
The ill-fated sailing jaunt was meant to be a joyous bash following Mr Lynch's legal victory, with guests including loyal pals who stood by him during his trial. Missing from the group, as per the civil protection agency, is one of Lynch's American legal aides, Christopher Morvillo of Clifford Chance, along with Mr Morvillo's spouse.
Italian officials have kicked off a probe into whether crew members leaving hatches open could've led to the disaster. Time is slipping away for anyone trapped, with experts warning there's a tight two to three-day window before survival chances plummet.
Vincenzo Zagarola from the Italian Coastguard reckons the boat took a rapid plunge and despite extensive search operations by sea and sky, no survivors have been found. He stated: "We think they are still inside the boat, that is our very hard idea. Our search and rescue activity by sea and air has gone on for around 36 hours."
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