Cause of Death Determined for 'One-of-a-Kind' Chef Aboard Luxury Yacht That Sank in Sicily, Sources Say

Mar. 15, 2025

The cause of death for chef Recaldo Thomas, the first person found dead aftertheBayesianyacht sank off the coast of Sicily last month, has been determined, PEOPLE confirms.

Thomas died of drowning afterthe 183-foot boat sank following a severe storm on Aug. 19, according to sources close to the ongoing investigation.

His body was recovered outside the vessel not long after the yacht went into the water, and sources say he had seawater in his lungs.

The chef was one of seven victims in the sinking, Italian authorities have said. Twenty-two people were onboard theBayesian— 12 passengers and 10 crew — at the time. Fifteen of them were subsequently rescued.

The victims included Thomas as well as Chairman of Morgan Stanley InternationalJonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy Bloomer; New York City-based lawyerChristopher Morvillo and his wife, jewelry designer Neda Morvillo; and British tech businessmanMike Lynch and his daughter Hannah.

While Thomas drowned, testing is ongoing to determine if the six other victims, who were found inside theBayesianafter it sank, may have suffocated because an air bubble they were in ran out of oxygen and filled with carbon dioxide, PEOPLE previously reported.

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Recaldo Thomas.Recaldo Thomas/Facebook

Recaldo Thomas/Facebook

Thomas' friends have mourned him since the tragedy.One friend previously toldThe Independentthat he “was a one-of-a kind special human being.”

Eli Fuller, another friend,told the BBCthat the chef was somebody young children from his native Antigua looked up to.

“He was sought after,” Fuller said. “The kids would see all these white people working on yachts. For them to see an Antiguan man traveling all over the world — it was important for our community.”

Gareth Williams, who had known Thomas for 30 years, said that Thomas lived in Antigua during the yachting off-season and worked in part to help his parents, the BBC reported.

“He told me just the other day that he needed to work two more seasons to fix up his late parents' house,” Williams said. “He loved yachting, but he was tired.”

A source close to the survivors previously confirmed to PEOPLE that Mike Lynch and the other passengers on theBayesianhad beencelebrating with family and friendsfollowingLynch’s acquittal from a U.S. fraud trialin June.

source: people.com