Those missing in the Bayesian yacht disaster in Sicily may still be alive thanks to air pockets, a brother of one of the missing has said. Italian search and rescue teams are battling to get inside the Bayesian luxury yacht which sank rapidly to the seabed about 160 ft underwater on Monday. Now Jeremy Bloomer, the twin brother of missing bank boss Jonathan Bloomer, has said he hopes air pockets could offer a chance of survival for those inside the vessel.
He told the BBC : ‘It’s a slow process and it will take time. So there might be air pockets, but we don’t know. It’s still wait and see, so fingers crossed.
’ Six people are still missing – British tech tycoon Mike Lynch , his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo. 14h ago Tributes paid to ‘kind, loved’ chef after body recovered 17h ago Mike Lynch and five other passengers may be inside sunken yacht 18h ago Charlotte Golunski and her family pictured leaving hospital 21h ago Yacht captain breaks silence with just five-word sentence 22h ago Co-defendant of Mike Lynch fraud case was a ‘much-loved’ man, says family More and more tributes have been pouring in for Ricardo Thomas after the Italian coastguard discovered his body in the water off coast of Sicily. Facebook has been flooded with posts from his families and friends, saying their last goodbyes to the chef.
Rose Marie described him as ‘my dearest friend, my partner in crime’, adding: ‘An honour and a pleasure to have been your friend, it just wasn’t long enough ...
.we had so much to conquer. ‘Love to the Recaldo Thomas family.
.. I am so sorry.
‘Such a very special person for many of us, the laughter, the great kindness the generosity...
the love...
he had so much to give...
RIP Ric.’ Sharing pictures of parties, dinners and travels, loved ones described him as ‘the smiliest, friendliest, most supportive chef in the yachting industry’. Flora Pickard posted on Facebook: ‘Looking at the moon shining bright for you Recaldo Thomas.
I was so honoured to have you as a shoulder, as a hug every time I saw you, as a smile as a super friend – all over the world. ‘I am going to miss you like crazy dude! Cheers to the legend!’ Erica Lay wrote: ‘RIP to lovely chef Recaldo Thomas who touched the hearts of many over his vastly diverse and lengthy career at sea, and left lasting memories for all who crossed his path. ‘I know someone was up there was waiting for you with a large rum and a hug whilst his feet were tippy tapping my friend.
’ Hatches and doors left open overnight on the superyacht may have caused it to capsize, a sailing expert has said. Sam Jefferson, editor of magazine Sailing Today, said that such incidents are ‘incredibly rare’, describing the chances of a vessel being hit by a waterspout as ‘minuscule’. It is believed the vessel was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout.
Weather records show temperatures reached around 33C the day before the sinking, which may have led to the people on board to leave the doors open. Mr Jefferson said: ‘I would have said that the boat got hit very hard by the wind, it was pinned over on its side. ‘I imagine all the doors were open because it was hot, so there were enough hatches and doors open that it filled with water very quickly and sank like that.
‘The reason it got pinned over so hard was because the mast is huge. It acted almost like a sail. (It) pushed the boat hard over on its side.
‘(The boat) filled with water before it could right. This is all speculation, but that’s the only logical explanation.’ Specialist divers continued their search for six people who remain missing in the water.
Divers could be listening out for a ‘timed banging noise’ as they continue to scour the wreck of the superyacht off Sicily’s coast to find six missing people. Dr Jean-Baptiste Souppez, who teaches mechanical, biomedical and design engineering at Aston University, said: ‘A sign the rescuers may be looking for is a banging noise at regular intervals. ‘This is common practice on submarines, and was one of the signs the search mission for the Titan submarine was looking for after it went missing last year.
’ Whatever is left of Bayesian is currently 164ft underwater, posing a challenge to rescue teams. There is still slim possibility that air pockets exist within the sunken sailboat, and the trapped passengers are still alive. But Dr Souppez said such possibility was ‘simply impossible to predict’.
The former school of Hannah Lynch, Mike Lynch’s daughter, said its ‘thoughts are with their family and everyone involved’ as the pair remain missing at sea. A spokesperson for Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, in west London, said: ‘We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident. ‘Our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates.
’ The mother of one of the rescued Bayesian crew members said she is ‘beyond relieved’ that her daughter’s life was spared. Heidi Randall, the mother of Leah Randall, told Sky News: ‘I am beyond relieved that my daughter’s life was spared by the grace of God. ‘It does not make it any easier living with the heartache of those who have lost their lives or are missing.
‘My very deepest condolences to the chef’s family as they formed a great friendship.’ This is Ricardo Thomas’ haunting post on Instagram – just 10 days before he died off the coast of Sicily after. Mr Thomas had been working on the superyacht as a chef when the tornado struck.
His body was recovered from the water near the site, more than 24 hours later. His last picture on Instagram shows the sun setting over the sea near Santa Marina Salina, one of the main towns on Salina, one of the Aeolian Islands. There is no caption accompanying the post, but since yesterday a number of people have commented, paying their tributes.
One wrote: ‘What a Last Photo Brotha RIP.’ The Italian Coastguard has confirmed the name of another crew member of Bayesian who survived. Spokesperson Vincenzo Zagarola said Leo Eppel was on board the sailboat that sank in the early hours of Monday.
Tributes have been paid to a chef whose body has been recovered near the site of the Bayesian superyacht sinking off the coast of Sicily. Ricardo Thomas, a Canadian citizen with an Antiguan passport, died after a tornado over the ocean, known as a water spout, hit the luxury yacht yesterday. Mr Thomas has been named in local Antiguan media and on social media as Recaldo Thomas.
In a series of emotive posts online, friends described him as ‘kind’ and ‘a friend to everyone’. Posting on Facebook, Jess Whiteley said: ‘Rest in Power big man. You always loved this pic of you.
‘I don’t know what else to say except I love you, and I always will. Too many memories to share all at once..
. and too many were supposed to be made.’ Two more survivors of the Bayesian yacht disaster have been named as Leah Randall and Katja Chicken.
The two women are South African, Sky News reported, and they were members of the crew on the boat. Captain Karsten Borner, who brought survivors of the Bayesian disaster on board his own boat, has said he took precautions to save his own vessel in the storm. Again speaking to news agency Reuters, he said he made an effort to keep his Dutch-flagged ship steady before noticing something was wrong with the yacht nearby.
He told the agency: ‘I don’t absolutely know what they did. I only know that they went flat with a mast on the water and that they sank in two minutes.’ Borner blamed unusually warm sea temperatures for the extreme weather on Monday morning, which he describes as ‘very violent, very intense, a lot of water and I think a turning system like a tornado’.
Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of Mike Lynch, is one of the six missing passengers on the boat alongside her dad. Her former school, Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, has just released a statement. It said: ‘We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates.
’ Emergency rescuers have just 10 minutes to search for those missing in the wreckage of the Bayesian, responders have told Giornale Di Sicilia. The divers have faced challenges when searching for those onboard, with Marco Tilotta, who is coordinating the search and rescue, describing it as a ‘prohibitive’ search. Emergency responder Luca Cari told Italian daily Giornale Di Sicilia: ‘They can stay underwater for a maximum of 12 minutes, two of which are needed to go up and down.
‘So the real time to be able to carry out the search is 10 minutes per dive.’ A spokesperson for law firm Clifford Chance said it is ‘deeply saddened’ by the sinking of superyacht Bayesian off he coast of Sicily. A spokesperson said: ‘We are in shock and deeply saddened by this tragic incident.
‘Our thoughts are with our partner, Christopher Morvillo, and his wife, Neda, who are among the missing. ‘Our utmost priority is providing support to the family as well as our colleague Ayla Ronald, who together with her partner thankfully survived the incident. ‘Our thoughts extend to the other passengers and crew and all those affected.
‘We have no further comment at this time. ‘We, and the families, ask that their request for privacy is honoured during this period.’ The Italian Coastguard believes Mike Lynch and five other missing people may still be inside the sunken yacht, a spokesman said.
Vincenzo Zagarola told the PA news agency this was the working theory of officials on Sicily because it is believed the boat sank quickly and search and rescue efforts by sea and air have so far delivered no results. He said: ‘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.
‘Of course, we do not exclude that they are not inside the boat, but we know the boat sank quickly. ‘We suppose that the six people missing may not have had time to get out of the boat.’ The yacht which sank off the coast of Palermo yesterday morning remains largely undamaged at the bottom of the Mediterranean, a diver has said.
Speaking to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero , Marco Tilotta said the Bayesian was ‘practically intact’. Mr Tilotta, who works for Palermo’s fire and rescue service, said: ‘It is resting on its side on the starboard side. It has no gashes, no signs of impact.
’ Charlotte Golunski, who was one of the first Bayesian passengers to speak out after the sinking, has left hospital in Palermo. She gave a memorable account of the terror she felt on Monday morning as a storm hit the boat in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Ms Golunski said: ‘It was all dark.
In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.’ She saved the life of her one-year-old daughter Sophia by holding her above the waves, and the pair ended up at Di Cristina paediatric hospital in Palermo together.
Her husband James Emslie also survived the sinking and was taken to a different hospital in the Sicilian city. The family of three was pictured leaving Di Cristina hospital together. Diving teams have managed to make a way to get inside the Bayesian, which has sunk some 50 metres.
Giornale De Sicilia , a Sicilian newspaper, says diverts from the fire department and port authority have opened a hole in the hull. The rescue teams also now have a clearer idea of the condition of the Bayesian – including that the hull is still intact. The yacht, La Repubblica reports, shows no sign of colliding with rocks or other ships.
It has tilted 90° to the right and has sunk 50 metres. The working theory is that the ship was flooded with water from the stern or bow in a short amount of time. Furniture and debris have swamped the cabins.
Divers are working in 35-minute ships, taking 12 minutes to go back up to the surface. Judy, the wife of Jonathan Bloomer, is among the six yacht passengers missing. She’s been described by the CEO of Eve Appeal, a gynaecological cancer charity she was a trustee of, as a ‘brilliant champion for women’s health’.
Athena Lamniso was ‘deeply shocked to hear the news that our very dear friend and her husband Jonathan, are among those missing’, the BBC reported. ‘Our thoughts are with Judy and Jonathan’s family, as well as all those who are still waiting for news after this tragic event,’ she added. The family of Steve Chamberlain are hoping to complete his final running route after he died while out running in his home town in Cambridgeshire.
Teddy, his son, posted on the social networking website Strava that Mr Chamberlain’s family will run the route, starting from the outside of the town of Stretham, to Ely, in memory of Steve after his death. Cambridgeshire Police said 52-year-old Mr Chamberlain died in hospital after he was struck by a car on Saturday. A statement from his lawyer said he was hit ‘while out running’.
Under his dad’s final Strava post, Teddy wrote: ‘We are planning to complete this run for Dad (after I train of course!). ‘If any of you would like to pay tribute and run it with us I will keep you updated. I’m sure we will make a post about the day and time at a later date.
He was such an incredible man and the pain we feel in unimaginable.’ MORE : What is a waterspout and did it cause the Sicily yacht tragedy? MORE : Last moments of Bayesian yacht as it’s battered by storm before sinking MORE : Lawyer’s haunting seven-word post before vanishing on Bayesian yacht Sign Up for News Updates Get your need-to-knowlatest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more Privacy Policy.
