Body of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch recovered from yacht, Italian official says, as divers search for his daughter

By CNN

Published August 22, 2024 2:24 AM

CNN

By Barbie Latza Nadeau, Niamh Kennedy, Lauren Kent and Kara Fox, CNN

Porticello, Italy (CNN) — The body of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been recovered from the sunken Bayesian superyacht, Italian interior ministry official Massimo Mariani told Reuters Thursday.

Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still missing, Mariani said, and divers are still searching the area where the vessel sank.

Earlier Thursday, a fifth body was brought to shore from the wreck of the boat, which sank earlier in the week. A CNN team on the ground saw Italian authorities move the body from a rescue boat to ambulances at the Sicilian port of Porticello.

The British-flagged vessel, with 22 passengers and crew members on board, rapidly sank after its mast, one of the world’s tallest, broke in half during a violent storm. Fifteen people were rescued on Monday and one body was recovered – thought to be that of the onboard chef Recaldo Thomas. Six others were initially reported missing.

As investigators probe the cause of the wreck, the CEO of the firm that owns the vessel’s manufacturer has detailed how a litany of avoidable “mistakes” may have contributed to the ship sinking.

Once they became aware of the bad weather, the ship’s crew should have locked down the hull, closed all doors and hatches and made all guests congregate in the ship’s assembly point, Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

“Instead it took on water with the guests still in the cabin. All it took was a 40-degree tilt and those in the cabin found themselves with the door above. Can you imagine a 60-70 year old man climbing out?” he said.

In a separate interview with Sky News, Costantino said vessels like the Bayesian are “safest in the most absolute sense” ought to have been “unsinkable.”

“First of all, because they have very little surface compared to a yacht facing into the wind. Second, with the structure of the drift keel, they become unsinkable bodies,” he said.

Constantino said he was in a state of “sadness and disbelief” since learning that the Bayesian – built in 2008 by the Italian company Perini Navi, which was acquired by The Italian Sea Group in 2021 – sank early Monday.

The six individuals reported missing were Lynch and his daughter; Morgan Stanley International director Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy Bloomer; prominent American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Italian authorities are not yet disclosing the names of all those whose bodies have been brought ashore. This is likely because in Italy, a person close to the deceased must formally identify the body, before a coroner or the prosecutor’s office confirms this.

Given that the sinking of the Bayesian is under criminal investigation, formal identifications will likely come from the prosecutor’s office. Italy’s civil protection agencies do not have the authority to confirm victims’ identities.

Since the boat sank, emergency crews have battled difficult conditions to enter the wreck, which is around 50 meters underwater (approximately 150 feet.) Divers have had around only 12 minutes to reach and explore the site before having to resurface.

Initial reports suggest a small waterspout, which developed over the area the boat was in Siciliy on Monday morning, could have been behind the yacht’s sinking.

Four days in, Italian authorities are still trying to understand how the 56-meter (184-foot) yacht sank so quickly. Separately, the United Kingdom’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has also opened an investigation, saying on Wednesday that it would deploy a team of four inspectors to Palermo to conduct a preliminary assessment of the scene.

CCTV shows footage of sinking

Waterspouts, a type of tornado, are spinning columns of air that form over water, or move from land out to water. They are often accompanied by high winds, high seas, hail and dangerous lightning. While they are most common over tropical oceans, they can form almost anywhere. Waterspouts in Sicily, however are rare.

Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, stressed that there was no indication that the design or construction of the boat was at fault in the ship’s sinking. “This episode sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact,” he said.

Unverified security camera footage released on Wednesday appears to have shown the moments that the tornado sank the yacht. As rain pelted down on the port, a grainy video shows the boat being battered by the storm, rocking violently from side to side before capsizing.

One witness, the owner of a villa looking out to where the Bayesian was anchored, said that after news of the sinking yacht emerged, he watched back his CCTV footage, where the boat could be seen sinking.

“In just 60 seconds, you can see the ship disappear,” he told Italian outlet ANSA. “You can see clearly what’s happening. There was nothing that could be done for the vessel. It disappeared in a very short time.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Christian Edwards contributed reporting.

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