Rescuers carry the body of Hannah Lynch, daughter of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, at the site where a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo. | Photo: Reuters
Italian rescue teams on Friday brought ashore the last of seven bodies believed to be that of a daughter from a superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily, the coast guard said. British technology veteran Mike LynchWho died in a boat sinking earlier this week.
Hannah Lynch, 18, was the last person missing aboard the 56-metre (184-foot) British-flagged yacht The Bayesian, which sank in a storm early on Monday.
Mike Lynch’s body was recovered He was celebrating his birthday on Thursday. Recently acquitted of fraud charges He was buried with his family and those who had defended him at trial in the United States. His wife, Angela Bacares, was one of the 15 survivors.
“The Lynch family is in shock and is receiving condolences and support from family and friends. Their thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy,” a family spokesperson said in a statement Friday.
Rescuers struggled for four days to locate all the missing bodies, and were able to make only slow progress into the interior of the wreck, which lies on the sea floor 50 metres (164 ft) below the surface.
Civil defense officials said they believed the ship was struck by an overwater tornado, known as a waterspout, and sank rapidly.
The other five victims included one of Lynch’s American lawyers, Christopher Morvillo, and his wife, Neda; Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley’s London-based investment banking subsidiary, and his wife, Judy; and the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas.
Hannah Lynch is seen in this undated photo provided by the Lynch family. | Photo credit: AP
Investigators from the Termini Imerese public prosecutor’s office said they would hold a press conference on Saturday to unveil the first findings of their criminal investigation, which was launched shortly after the tragedy, though no formal suspects have yet been publicly identified.
Investigators’ main question is how a sailing ship that was deemed “unsinkable” by its builder, Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a sailboat moored nearby was unharmed.