The final body, believed to be that of Hannah Lynch, has been found in Italian waters four days after the Bayesian superyacht sank, the Italian Coast Guard has said.
British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch’s superyacht sank off Sicily earlier this week carrying 22 passengers and crew. All missing passengers have now been found.
Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the yacht sank at around 5am local time on Monday during a storm.
Efforts to recover the body, likely Hannah’s, are “in progress”, the head of Sicily’s civil protection agency Salvatore Cocina said.
Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 — including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares — were rescued after escaping onto a lifeboat. The boat’s chef Recaldo Thomas was confirmed dead on Monday.
The boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynch’s acquittal in a fraud case in the US.
Who is Hannah Lynch? British tech tycoon’s teenage daughter
Hannah Lynch, 18, had been onboard her tech tycoon father’s luxury boat alongside 20 others when the Bayesian capsized during stormy weather.
Her mother, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 survivors who were rescued from a lifeboat after the boat dramatically sank in minutes at around 5am on Monday morning.
Hannah had been due to study English at the University of Oxford having recently finished her A-levels, The Times reported. A gifted pupil, she won a prize for English while she was in Year 10 at Latymer Upper School.
The prestigious Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, where she had been a pupil, has said they are all “incredibly shocked” after a yacht sank with her onboard.
Friends of the teenager described her as a “supernova” – a gentle, kind, clever young woman who was a staunch feminist, according to The Times.
Holly Evans23 August 2024 11:40
Search for Hannah not “easy or quick”
Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian Coastguard, said the search for Hannah has not been “easy or quick“, comparing the sunken yacht to an “18-storey building full of water”.
He told media: Mr Zagarola said: “From the first moment, it has not been easy or quick to inspect the boat. Think of an 18-storey building full of water.”
Rachel Hagan23 August 2024 11:34
Divers discover body of final missing person
Divers have discovered the final missing body, believed to be that of Hannah Lynch, from the superyacht that sank off Sicily, Reuters reports.
Rachel Hagan23 August 2024 11:22
Hiscox appoints new interim chair after the death of Jonathan Bloomer
Hiscox has appointed a new interim chair, following the death of Jonathan Bloomer in the yacht incident.
Colin Keogh, a senior independent director at the insurance group, will assume the role, the company said on Friday.
In a statement on Thursday, Hiscox chief executive Aki Hussain said: “We are deeply shocked and saddened by Jonathan and Judy’s tragic deaths. Our deepest sympathies go out to their family and friends at this devastating time. It was a privilege to have known Jonathan and to have benefited from his generosity and wisdom over the last year in his role as chair of Hiscox.
“His deep experience across our industry and in the broader business arena, combined with his personal values, made him both an excellent chair and a person I was proud to know and work with. His advice and support were immensely valuable to me, and he will be dearly missed.”
Rachel Hagan23 August 2024 10:22
Prosecutors will hold press conference tomorrow
Prosecutors in Termini Imerese, near where the Bayesian superyacht went down, are scheduled to hold a press conference tomorrow morning.
Investigators from the local public prosecutor’s office are gathering evidence for a potential criminal investigation into the disaster.
Rachel Hagan23 August 2024 10:03
Watch live: Search for Hannah Lynch continues
Watch live as the search continues to find Hannah Lynch after the body of her father, British tech magnate Mike Lynch, was retrieved on Thursday (22 August) following the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht off the coast of Sicily on Monday.
Divers and underwater vehicles are scouring the scene as the billionaire’s youngest daughter remains unaccounted for after the 56-metre boat sank in a severe storm.
Holly Patrick23 August 2024 09:40
Coastguard hopeful for progress in fifth day of search
The Italian coastguard is hopeful there will be progress today in the search for Hannah Lynch.
Spokesman Vincenzo Zagarola said “we trust” when asked if any developments were expected.
Rachel Hagan23 August 2024 09:24
Yacht group CEO questions if doors and hatches remained open
The luxury yacht’s captain, James Cutfield, was reportedly questioned by authorities for two hours as they began speaking to all crew members.
Giovanni Costantino, chief executive of the firm that built the yacht, told The Sun the ship was “virtually unsinkable”.
He instead wondered if doors and hatches had remained open.
“The disturbance was completely readable on all the weather maps,” he said. “Fishermen did not go out precisely because of the adverse weather conditions. It was therefore expected that the ship would take precautions.”
Holly Evans23 August 2024 08:48
Italian Coastguard ‘trust’ that progress will be made in search for teenager
The Italian Coastguard “trust” that on Friday there will be significant progress in the search for the missing woman from the wreck of a yacht that sank off Sicily, a spokesman said.
Asked if any developments are expected, Vincenzo Zagarola replied: “We trust.”
Holly Evans23 August 2024 08:13
In pictures: Rescue workers bringing fifth body bag ashore
Tara Cobham23 August 2024 07:00