Specialist divers have today halted the search for the missing daughter of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, as the 18-year-old remains the only person missing after a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily this week.
A total of six bodies have been recovered since the £30m Bayesian ship was hit by an offshore tornado known as a manga marina off Sicily at around 3am GMT on Monday.
Mr. Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank president Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance attorney Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo and the boat’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, were killed when the yacht sank.
All the bodies of the missing have been recovered, except for Hannah, who had joined her parents on the trip before beginning her English studies at Oxford University in September.
The search for Hannah was suspended at around 8pm on Thursday in Sicily and divers are expected to begin again at 6.30am on Friday.
Interior Ministry official Massimo Mariani said Hannah could still be on board the boat or she could have been thrown into the sea when it sank.
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, is among the bodies recovered from the wreckage of the £30m superyacht that sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily.
Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judith also died in the superyacht disaster.
Clifford Chance’s attorney, Chris Morvillo, and his wife, Neda Morvillo, were also aboard the boat.
The body of chef Recaldo Thomas (pictured) was discovered on the day of the sinking
The luxury ship Bayesian (file image) capsized and sank off the coast of Sicily, Italy, due to bad weather on Monday while moored half a mile off the coast of Porticello.
Hannah had just completed her A-Levels at the prestigious Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, and was set to go to Oxford next month.
A spokesman for the £25,000-a-year school said: “We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with her family and all those involved as we await further updates.”
This comes after Mr Bloomer’s family and his wife Judy paid an emotional tribute to them today.
In a statement confirming the death of their parents, the Bloomer family described the couple as “amazing people and an inspiration to many.”
They said: ‘We are mourning our loved ones and all those affected by the tragedy.
‘Our parents were amazing people and an inspiration to many, but above all, they were focused and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren.
‘Together for five decades, our only consolation is that they are still together now.
“It’s an unimaginable pain to bear.”
The chief executive of legal AI firm Luminance, founded by Lynch, paid tribute to the tech mogul, saying he was a “visionary like no other.”
Fire service and Coast Guard diving teams return to port on the fourth day of the search and recovery operation
Rescue workers are working today at the site where the luxury yacht Bayesian sank off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo.
Eleanor Lightbody said in a statement: ‘I am devastated to hear the news about our founding investor, Mike Lynch, and everyone involved in this tragic accident.
‘Mike was a visionary like no other. He had a unique ability to spot the next technological revolution and solve tomorrow’s challenges before anyone else knew they were coming.
‘Above all, Mike was a kind man who influenced many people and he will be greatly missed. I am honored to have known him, worked with him, and learned from him over the years.
“The UK has lost someone with the means, authority, knowledge and drive to propel the country into technological leadership, but his legacy will live on in all the extraordinary companies he built and led, as well as in his family, who are in my thoughts.”
The body of the fifth person recovered from the yacht’s wreckage was returned in a blue body bag to the port of Porticello on Thursday morning.
Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 – including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares – were rescued after escaping in a lifeboat.
The body of former Canadian citizen Mr Thomas, who worked as a chef on the superyacht Bayesian, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday.
The boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynch’s acquittal in a US fraud case.
The businessman, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was acquitted in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its $11bn (£8.64bn) sale to US firm Hewlett Packard.
A decision on whether or not to rescue the sunken yacht from the seabed is “not on the agenda” but will be taken in the future, a spokesman for the Italian Coast Guard said.
Vincenzo Zagarola told PA: “This is not an issue on the agenda. It will be, but not now.”
The ship’s captain, James Cutfield, 51, was reportedly questioned by authorities for two hours as they began questioning all crew members.
The Bayesian (pictured, undated) capsized during a severe thunderstorm on Monday morning.
He also said that the theory still being pursued by the Italian Coast Guard is that the missing woman is on board the ship.
The luxury yacht’s captain, James Cutfield, was reportedly questioned by authorities for two hours as they began speaking to all crew members.
A helicopter had been sent earlier to assist with the search and divers from the local fire service were seen entering the water with torches attached to their helmets.
Vigili del Fuoco fire crews said they had been accessing the ship through natural entrances, without making openings.
The Italian Coast Guard said remote-controlled underwater vehicles were used and naval units and cave divers were also involved in the search.
The Bayesian was moored half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank at around 5 a.m. local time on Monday as the area was hit by a storm.
The remains of the Bayesian lie on the seabed off the coast, at a depth of 50 metres (164 ft).
Mike Lynch with his wife Angela Bacares, who survived the disaster
A boat carrying a diving team heads to the site of the Bayesian find on the fourth day of the search.
Firefighters described the operation as “complex,” with divers limited to 12-minute underwater shifts.
Survivors have been recovering at a hotel complex in Porticello, where authorities are collecting witness statements.
An Italian doctor at the hospital where British tourist Charlotte Emsley and her one-year-old daughter were taken said the mother held her baby high above the waves after the yacht sank.
Dr Domenico Cipolla, from the Di Cristina Children’s Hospital in Palermo, told PA: ‘Obviously the mother and husband were very shaken by what happened, it was a tragedy for them.
‘She told me that two minutes after falling asleep with her baby they were in the water, she didn’t understand how that had happened, it got dark.
‘She held the child in her arms above the waves, for a few seconds the baby was in the water, but she saved him.
‘Sometimes he cried for his friends in the hospital.’
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