Billionaire’s Widow Shares Final Moments Before Tragic £14 Million Yacht Sinking in Italy, Resulting in the Death of Her Daughter and Husband

THE brave widow of Brit billionaire Mike Lynch has opened up on the final moments before the doomed £14 million Bayesian yacht sank.

Angela Bacares, 58, survived the maritime disaster but lost both her husband and their teenage daughter Hannah.

Ms Bacares was awakened in the middle of the night when the luxury vessel started to tilt as a storm ripped through Sicily in August of last year.

The 184ft Bayesian sank within a few minutes after being hit by the downburst – a strong, localised wind – while anchored in Porticello near Palermo.

Seven people died including four Brits after a frantic rescue mission.

Ms Bacares, speaking just before the one-year mark of the incident, conveyed to Italian prosecutors that when she initially woke up in bed, she felt “not worried, just curious.”

With the ongoing bad weather, Ms Bacares recounted how she observed items starting to slide around the cabin she shared with Mr. Lynch.

But the widow says she remained calm and didn’t think they were in a “serious situation”.

This feeling was due to her being caught in another treacherous bout of weather just two weeks earlier in Naples which passed by after some time.

As the strong winds grew even more intense, Ms Bacares decided to leave her cabin and approach Captain James Cutfield shortly before 4 a.m.

In her recent statement, Ms Bacares commended New Zealander Cutfield and his crew, noting that their composure during the severe weather always made her feel “reassured.”

But the skipper, 52, was placed under investigation for shipwreck and manslaughter after details of the sinking were uncovered.

Italian prosecutors have also been looking into the ship’s engineer Tim Parker Eaton and nightwatchman Matthew Griffiths. 

All three deny any blame as investigations continue.

Ms Bacares says after speaking to the crew she continued to feel calm.

Then “something catastrophic happened”, she said.

She remembered the ship suddenly tilting heavily as 80mph winds and a tornado-like waterspout struck the mast, causing chaos as everyone on board scrambled for safety.

As the boat sank rapidly, Ms Bacares was pulled to safety by a crew member unaware of where her loved ones were.

Of the 22 onboard, 15 survived but seven died including Mr Lynch and Hannah, 18.

Divers spent five days scouring the Bayesian wreck to retrieve the bodies of the missing passengers.

They found Mr Lynch and his four guests, Chris and Neda Morvillo and Jonathan and Judy Bloomer, in the first cabin on the left.

Hannah was the last passenger to be discovered in the third cabin.

Officials said the victims had scrambled to reach air pockets in the yacht as it sank stern-first before rolling onto its right side on the seabed. 

Businesswoman Angela is now also facing a financial battle.

There is a possibility of legal action from the families of the yacht victims who lost their lives—additionally, the UK’s High Court recently determined that her husband’s estate is liable for more than £700 million to US tech company Hewlett-Packard due to fraud allegations.

The case was brought six years ago by HP after they acquired his company Autonomy in 2011.

The firm claimed Lynch and the former chief financial officer had fraudulently inflated its value.

While Lynch was facing court action in America, HP was already chasing him through the civil courts in Britain — leading to this week’s damages ruling.

The High Court ruled that HP had paid a lot more than it would have done “had Autonomy’s true financial ­position been correctly presented” during the sale.

If his estate — which goes to Angela and her remaining daughter Esme, 22 — ends up having to pay, it will almost certainly be bankrupted, ­leaving no inheritance for the family.