Superyacht Survivor’s Heartbreaking Message to Father After Rescue
A survivor of the ill-fated Bayesian superyacht which recently sunk in Sicily sent her father a tragic message while surrounded by all the destruction the catastrophe caused.
Ayla Ronald, a senior associate at the law firm Clifford Chance, and her partner Matthew Fletcher were invited on Bayesian by tech tycoon Mike Lynch, The New York Post reported.
Ayla Ronald scored an invite because she was part of the legal team that helped in getting an acquittal for Lynch in one of Silicon Valley’s biggest-ever fraud cases, The New York Post reported.
Mike Lynch was accused of trying to inflate his software company Autonomy’s revenue so that he could sell it to Hewlett-Packard at the value of $11 billion in 2011. The trial went on for months, and on June 6 the jury found Mike Lynch, 59, not guilty of all 15 conspiracy and wire fraud charges.
Lynch invited his family and acquaintances on the British-flagged vessel to celebrate his acquittal, the New York Post reported.
The vessel sank on August 18 after its mast, one of the world’s tallest, broke in half during a violent storm, CNN reported. Authorities were able to rescue 15 people from the yacht, while six were announced to be missing.
Six individuals reported to be missing were British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah Lynch; Morgan Stanley International director Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy Bloomer; prominent American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo.
In the days following the sinking two bodies were found inside the wreckage, which were later identified as Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah Lynch, as per a report, the New York Post reported. Two more bodies were found, but are yet to be identified.
According to Italian authorities, the chances of remaining missing individuals to have survived the disaster are extremely low, but they will continue with their efforts.
According to the maritime experts, a rare and unexpected "black swan" weather event might have caused the Bayesian yacht to sink at a rapid pace, the New York Post reported. In this event, a slim column of spinning air below a thunderstorm comes over the water.
Ayla Ronald and her partner were able to escape with their lives from the sinking ship, the New York Post reported.
Ayla Ronald's father Lin Ronald, on hearing the news of the disaster began trying to connect with his daughter, the Telegraph reported.
Ayla Ronald in the message thread to her father shared a heartbreaking revelation regarding other passengers. "She has only said to me that there are deaths, and she and her partner are alive," her father stated.
Lin Ronald added that his daughter was very shaken after the incident, the New York Post reported. Allegedly her phone was the only one with battery on the ship, so she had to take up the task of coordinating with the first responders. The whole experience has impacted her deeply, and she is taking time to recuperate.
Ayla Ronald is employed with the law firm Clifford Chance, who released a statement about the disaster, The New York Post reported. "We are in shock and deeply saddened by this tragic incident," the firm said in the statement. "Our thoughts are with our Partner, Christopher Morvillo, and his wife Neda who are among the missing, and with their families."
"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," the statement continued, The New York Post reported. "Our thoughts extend to the other passengers and crew and all those affected."