A rescue boat with rescue personnel on board carries out search operations at the scene where a luxury yacht sank, off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, on Aug. 23.Louiza Vradi/Reuters
Italian rescuers on Friday brought ashore the last of seven bodies from a superyacht that sunk off the coast of Sicily, the Coast Guard said. It is believed to be that of the daughter of British tech magnate Mike Lynch, who also perished when the boat sank earlier this week.
Hannah Lynch, 18, was the last person unaccounted for aboard The Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged yacht that went down in a storm early Monday.
Mike Lynch’s body was recovered Thursday. He had been celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges with his family and the people who had defended him at trial in the United States. His wife, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 survivors.
“The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends. Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy,” a spokesperson for the family said in a statement issued Friday.
Rescuers struggled for four days to find all the missing bodies, making only slow headway through the interior of the wreck lying on the seabed 50 meters (164 feet) below the surface.
Civil protection officials said they believe the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.
The other five victims are Christopher Morvillo, one of Lynch’s U.S. lawyers, and his wife, Neda; Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley’s London-based investment banking subsidiary, and his wife, Judy; and Recaldo Thomas, the yacht’s chef.
Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office investigators said it will hold a news conference on Saturday to unveil the first findings of its criminal investigation, which was opened immediately after the tragedy despite no formal suspects having been publicly identified.
The main question investigators are focusing on is how a sailing vessel deemed “unsinkable” by its manufacturer, Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.