How a Freak Weather Phenomenon Likely Sank Billionaire's Yacht Near Sicily

The tragic sinking of the Bayesian Superyacht in Italy happened because of a 'tornadic waterspout', which has become common because of climate change, believe meteorologists. The Bayesian sunk on August 19 in Sicily.

Meteorologists surmise that the location where Bayesian was anchored went through this rotating column of air for several minutes causing the vessel to sink and take with it the lives of multiple people, Smithsonian Magazine reported. 

Meteorologists who have analyzed the incident said that the weather phenomenon 'tornadic waterspout' happens due to warm sea surface temperatures, during a storm.

The waterspout reportedly hit a stretch of water, east of Palermo, Sicily, in the early hours of August 19, and took the crew by surprise, Smithsonian Magazine reported. "Episodes of such speed and intensity mean that even if you are prepared, it is difficult to react in time," Luca Mercalli, the president of the Italian Meteorological Society shared.

Fabio Genco, head of the Palermo Emergency Medical Services, arrived at the site after the disaster was reported, NBC News reported. Genco shared that the survivors were surprised to be hit by such strong winds, so suddenly, and did not understand what to do about it.

"They told me that suddenly they found themselves catapulted into the water without even understanding how they had got there," he said. "The whole thing seems to have lasted from three to five minutes."

According to experts such phenomena are becoming more common because of climate change brought on by the emissions from burning fossil fuels, Smithsonian Magazine reported.

The ship was owned by UK tech tycoon, Mike Lynch, Euronews reported. Mike Lynch was hosting a party on the yacht to celebrate his acquittal in almost a decade-long fraud case against him by tech company HP. In June, a San Francisco jury found him not guilty of multiple fraud and conspiracy charges. 

There were 22 people on the superyacht, 15 were rescued by the authorities, while seven perished, Euronews reported. British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah; Lynch's New York lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Nada; Jonathan Bloomer, president of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife Anne Elizabeth; and Thomas Recaldo, the ship's chef have been identified as the victims.