Bank boss and wife ‘suffocated in air bubble because they ran out of oxygen’ in £33m yacht disaster

According to local media, the four people who died when a superyacht sank apparently did not drown but suffocated because they ran out of oxygen.

In the early hours of August 19, a luxury Bayes yacht sank off the northern coast of Sicily after being caught in a sudden, violent storm.

When the 56-meter-long boat began to sink “rapidly,” there were 22 passengers on board. 15 of them survived, including Captain James Cutfield.

Among the seven fatalities were tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, as well as Clifford Chance attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda.

Among the dead are Morgan Stanley Bank’s international CEO Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer and yacht chef Recaldo Thomas.

It was previously believed that all seven people drowned, but it is now claimed that the Bloomers “suffocated” when an air bubble ran out of oxygen.

According to Italian news magazine La Repubblica, an autopsy of Jonathan and his wife found that neither their lungs, stomach nor windpipe were “completely filled with water.”

The newspaper also assumes that the couple briefly survived the tragedy below deck.

It is suspected that they may have entered a “small” air bubble that “quickly filled with increasing amounts of toxic carbon dioxide.”

Sky News reported that divers who recovered the bodies from the yacht reportedly found them on the left side of the cabins.

Investigators claim their position indicated they were searching for the last air pockets as the ship tilted to the right after sinking.

La Repubblica added that neither the Bloomers nor the Morvillos showed signs of injury.

15 of the 22 people on board the ship survived the tragedy (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Further autopsies of businessman Lynch, his daughter and Thomas are scheduled to be carried out later this week.

According to reports, the ship, built by Italian yacht manufacturer Perini, will also be raised from the seabed as part of the ongoing investigation into the tragedy.

At the time of writing, the ship is believed to be 50 meters underwater in Porticello Bay.

Elsewhere, Italian prosecutors are reportedly investigating the boat’s captain, 51-year-old Cutfield, on possible charges of manslaughter and shipwreck.

British engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffiths are also believed to be under investigation on the same charges.

Among the dead were Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah (PA)

Giovanni Rizzuti, one of two lawyers defending the ship’s captain, said his client was “deeply affected by this ordeal.”

“We are currently working with other legal representatives to develop a defense strategy and review the technical aspects of the case.”

Under Italian law, an investigation against someone does not automatically mean guilt or that charges will be brought, since other persons may also be the subject of the investigation.

The Termini Imerese public prosecutor’s office declined to comment when asked by LADbible.