Captain describes horror moment Baysian superyacht sank as ‘big black triangle’ went under & vessel vanished off radar
THE captain of a boat near the Bayesian has described the terrifying moment he saw the superyacht sink.
Karsten Borner said he watched in horror as a “big, black triangle” went under the water before the Bayesian vanished off the radar.
Seven people on board died in the tragedy on August 19 including tech tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Their inquests, as well as ones for two other British victims, were opened this morning at hearings in Ipswich, Suffolk.
In a new ITV documentary that aired last night, Borner – captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell – recalled he believes he saw the Bayesian disappear beneath the waves.
Borner said: “In the lightning, I saw a big, black triangle – and this might have been the moment that was ship was capsized and sank.
“We were looking around with binoculars and watching the radar and she was gone.”
Borner previously told how his boat was forced to avoid hitting the £14million vessel after a tornado ripped through the coast of Sicily.
After realising the Bayesian had vanished, Borner’s crew saw a flare in the water followed by rising smoke.
A packed life raft was drafting in the sea with 15 people inside – including a one-year-old baby.
Borner’s crew quickly alerted the Italian coastguard, who rushed out to guide the raft back to safety.
Out of the 22 people on board the Bayesian, 15 survived while seven tragically died.
Heartbreakingly, initial investigations revealed four victims survived the sinking but died in an air pocket.
British billionaire Lynch, his daughter, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his 71-year-old wife Judy Bloomer died in the disaster.
Their inquests were opened today and adjourned until April 15.
The openings heard that Mike Lynch drowned, while the cause of death for the other three Brits remain under investigation.
Detective Superintendent Mike Brown of Suffolk Police said their deaths came after the Bayesian “for reasons yet to be unascertained sank rapidly” between 4.15am and 4.45am on August 19.
He said that searches began in the following hours and “continued uninterruptedly in the following days”, with bodies later located in the cabins of the vessel.
The officer said the time of death for all four was recorded as 5am the same day.
Mr Brown said Dr Lynch’s provisional medical cause of death was recorded as drowning following a post-mortem examination by Professor Antonia D’Argo.
US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the vessel, were also killed.
Three crew members are being investigated in Sicily, accused of leaving open the door at the rear port side causing water to enter the yacht and flood it.
The captain of the doomed Bayesian, James Cutfield, 51, is being investigated for manslaughter.
In last night’s doc, The Sinking of a Superyacht, a rescue diver revealed why Hannah’s body was found in the wreckage last.
He explained her “petite” size made her more difficult to find.
The diver said: “Because the girl was small, petite, her body was hidden behind a mattress, so it took longer to find her.
“When you are recovering a child or a young person it does affect you more than an adult.”
Hannah was found separate from the other five victims who were discovered in a separate compartment.
A rescuer said: “The victims were found in the lower level. We found the people in one room.
“Bearing in mind the time of the sinking, they were all in their rooms sleeping.
“The fact that they were found together means – it’s just a theory – they got together to escape, or to comfort each other.”
Recaldo Thomas’ body was found near the sunken ship after he drowned.
Just two months before the disaster, Dr Lynch had been cleared of carrying out a massive fraud over the sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.
The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal in the case in the US.