CCTV - Moment Bayesian yacht disappears during storm in Sicily

Why did all but one crew member of Bayesian superyacht survive? Maritime experts explain why six guests including Brit Mike Lynch are still missing - but staff were able to make if off alive

All but one of the crew onboard Mike Lynch's doomed superyacht survived because they were awake and on deck while their passengers remained asleep in the cabins below, a maritime expert suggested today.

Six people including 'Britain's Bill Gates' and his 18-year-old daughter, as well as a Morgan Stanley boss, are still missing after the £30million Bayesian sank amid a freak thunderstorm.

The ship's chef, Recaldo Thomas, was the first named victim of the disaster early on Monday morning, but his nine other crew members survived and all the people missing are passengers.

Stephen Askins is a partner at Tatham & Co, a London law firm with a specialism in maritime law. He has spent over thirty years working in the maritime sector, including dealing with the aftermath of accidents.

He told MailOnline that forecast bad weather likely meant the crew were already up and working when the Bayesian sunk, allowing them to quickly escape in a liferaft.

Meanwhile, it would have been harder for passengers below deck to flee in the 60 seconds it reportedly took the boat to sink.

Luca Mercalli, the president of the Italian Meteorological Society, said on Tuesday that the crew should have made sure that all the guests were awake and given them lifejackets in light of the forecasted heavy rains.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13764771/why-did-majority-superyacht-crew-survive-passengers-missing.html