Last body recovered following Sicily superyacht tragedy

Porticello: Italian rescue divers have found the body of the last person missing after British tech magnate Mike Lynch’s family yacht sank off Sicily.

The body is believed to be that of Lynch’s daughter, Hannah, 18, who had been the only person still unaccounted for following the tragedy.

The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long luxury boat carrying 22 passengers and crew, was anchored off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, when it capsized after being struck by a pre-dawn storm on Monday.

The wreck is lying at a depth of 50 metres and, once inside, the passageways are narrow. The local fire brigade on Friday described rescue operations as “long and delicate”, adding that more than 400 people were involved, including 28 specialist divers.

The bodies of the other five dead passengers, including Mike Lynch, were recovered on Wednesday and Thursday from inside the yacht. The body of the only crew member who died, chef Recaldo Thomas, was found near the wreck on Monday.

The bodies are expected to be officially identified after the transfer of the last recovered body to a hospital morgue in Palermo.

Hannah and Mike Lynch.

A judicial investigation has been opened into the sinking, which has baffled naval marine experts, who say a boat like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have withstood the storm.

The yacht’s captain James Cutfield, his eight surviving crew members and passengers have been questioned by police, but have not made public comments. Investigating prosecutors are due to hold a press conference on Saturday.

Lynch, 59, was one of the UK’s best-known tech entrepreneurs and had invited friends to join him on the yacht to celebrate his acquittal in June in a fraud trial. His wife, Angela Bacares, who owns the Bayesian, is believed to have been among the survivors.

Italian divers are pictured on Friday after recovering the body of one the victims of the shipwreck.Credit: AP

Italian officials confirmed they had retrieved the bodies of Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International, and Christopher Morvillo of the law firm Clifford Chance, alongside their wives, Judy Bloomer and Neda Morvillo.

Complex salvage operation

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of the Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini, said the shipwreck was the result of a string of “indescribable, unreasonable errors” made by the crew, and ruled out any design or construction failings.

The London Telegraph reported that Italian authorities were considering launching a manslaughter investigation.

Pulling the wreck out of the sea, where it is now lying on its right side, apparently intact, may help investigators determine what happened, but the operation is likely to be complex and costly.

Nick Sloane, a South African engineer who led the operation to salvage the Costa Concordia cruise liner that sank in 2012, said in Italian media interviews on Friday that the operation would cost up to €15 million ($24.7 million).

He told daily La Repubblica that salvaging the yacht would take six to eight weeks, including preparation work.

Reuters