One of the casualties in the tragic incident off the coast of Sicily this week is British technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch.
Confirmed among the deceased are Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer, US attorney Chris Morvillo, along with their spouses, Judy Bloomer and Neda Morvillo, as reported by the Italian coastguard.
Hannah, Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, is still unaccounted for.
Stay updated on the Superyacht search
Tragically, the ship’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, also perished and was recovered shortly after the vessel sank during the early hours of Monday.
The recent identification of the victims coincided with another recovery of a casualty retrieved from the wreckage in a blue body bag on Thursday, following the retrieval of four others the day before.
Among the survivors are Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, and a courageous British mother who, as per reports slept on deck with her infant during the tragic incident.
The body of Canadian-Antiguan chef Recaldo Thomas was recovered soon after the sinking
Initially, six individuals were reported missing when the UK-flagged Bayesian capsized amidst a storm, with a waterspout being identified as a likely factor.
The vessel now rests at a depth of about 50m (163ft) off Porticello near Palermo, where it had been moored.
Jonathan Bloomer was chairman of Morgan Stanley International and Hiscox. Pic: Hiscox/Linkedin
Christopher Morvillo was a lawyer who worked on Mr Lynch’s fraud case. Pic: Clifford Chance
Divers have shared the challenges of navigating the wreckage due to debris, darkness, confined spaces, and a brief 12-minute window on each descent.
An underwater drone equipped with lights is aiding in the search efforts, which are now concentrated on locating the remaining missing individual, Hannah Lynch.
Divers have recovered five bodies from the wreck in the last 24 hours. Pic: Reuters
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Friend of Lynch mentions: ‘We all hoped for a miracle’
The 59-year-old father was known as the “British Bill Gates” and had made headlines due to a well-publicized fraud case in the US.
In June, he was acquitted of all allegations linked to the sale of his tech company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
Instead of facing potential imprisonment, he was reveling in his exoneration alongside companions such as Christopher Morvillo, a legal counsel who assisted in his defense.
While investigators delve into the circumstances surrounding the yacht’s sinking, the head of the organization responsible for constructing the Bayesian informed Sky News that yachts of that caliber are “unsinkable”.
For more information:
Challenges in locating the yacht wreckage
Details on the passengers aboard the sunken superyacht
Pic:Perini Navi/The Italian Sea Group
Giovanni Costantino, Chief Executive Officer of The Italian Sea Group, emphasized that there were no design or construction flaws.
“This event seems like an incredible narrative, both technically and in actuality,” he expressed, highlighting that their structure and keel rendered them as “unsinkable vessels”.
In another development, the sibling of the individual overseeing the yacht conveyed that he is a proficient sailor and commands respect.
New Zealander James Cutfield, aged 51, served as the captain of the Bayesian and mentioned, in regards to the severe weather, to Italian media that “we were caught off guard”.
His brother Mark affirmed his sibling’s reputation as a seasoned mariner, leading luxury vessels for eight years and previously employed by a Turkish magnate.
To the New Zealand Herald, Mark disclosed his involvement in yacht construction spanning three decades and also his competitive dinghy racing in his youth.
