Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, was found alone in her own cabin 50 metres below the surface of the Mediterranean after the yacht she was on sank, rescue workers said.
Five other people, including her father, were found in a separate compartment on the superyacht Bayesian, fire service commander Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra told reporters at a conference in Termini Imerese, a town near the site of the sinking, this morning.
The Bayesian fell on its side as it sank and fire chief Fiandra said it became clear to divers that the disaster victims had tried to seek shelter on the surfaced side of the ship before dying.
Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio confirmed that the hypothesis of “homicide” had been raised following initial investigations into the sinking on Monday, August 19.
However, he stressed to reporters that the investigations are at a preliminary stage, but it seems to indicate that there are questions that the crew of the Bayesian must answer. Its captain, James Cutfield, has already been interviewed by investigators.
Hannah pictured with her father, who has just been acquitted of fraud charges in the United States.
Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, was found dead in her own cabin 50 metres below the surface of the Mediterranean.
Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio (centre) confirmed that the hypothesis of “homicide” had been raised following initial investigations into the sinking on Monday 19 August.
Fire commander Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra said Hannah Lynch had been found alone in a cabin on the surface side of the yacht.
Rescue crews wait after recovering the body of Hannah Lynch off the coast of Porticello yesterday
The press conference was held on Saturday as prosecutors blamed Italian civil codes for the lack of prior information available.
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Fire chief Mr Fiandra was quoted by Sky News as saying: “You might be interested to know where we recovered the bodies of the victims. I can tell you… that the boat sank and lay on its right side at the bottom of the sea.
‘It is quite clear that people were trying to hide in the huts on the left side and we found the first five bodies in the first hut on the left side and the last body in the third hut on the left side.
“There were six cabins: three on the left side and three on the right side. We found them in the highest part of the ship, towards the surface.”
Questions have been raised as to why it took so long for Italian authorities to inform the public in detail about their rescue operations.
Mr Cartosio told reporters that Italian civil codes had prevented him from revealing more information about the search while it was underway, stressing that he personally believed it created “significant obstacles” to transparency with the public.
The Bayesian sank early on Monday and emergency services were alerted shortly after 4.30am. The crew of a nearby Dutch sailing ship, the Sir Robert BP, were able to send out a life raft to help rescue 15 of the 22 people on board.
But Mr Cartosio added that it quickly became clear to those who witnessed the disaster that it would be “impossible” to save those still trapped on the yacht as it sank to the bottom of the sea.
“The Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a case based on the hypothesis of shipwreck and homicide, but so far we are only in the initial phase of the investigation,” he told reporters.
He added: ‘Usually a prosecutor is never satisfied with giving this information at this stage, precisely because events could change.
“We cannot rule anything out, but there has been a lot of media interest in relation to the people involved, but at the same time I think it is right to anticipate that the progress of this investigation may be very variable.”
The prosecutor added that it would be “painful” if, theoretically, “this tragedy, this terrible tragedy, was caused by behaviour that was not perfectly in line with the responsibility that everyone should have (on) the ship.”
The prosecutor in charge of the case, Raffaele Cammarano, was asked about the alcohol and drug tests being carried out on the ship’s crew, and said officials were trying to carry out such tests.
Recaldo Thomas, chef at the Bayesian, was the first person to be rescued after the yacht sank on Monday
Judy and Jonathan Bloomer died on the Bayesian when it tipped into the water.
The bodies of Neda and Chris Morvillo, photographed in 2018, were recovered earlier this week.
Both the hull and the superstructure, the part located above the main deck, were made of aluminum.
Divers headed into the water on August 23 to find the body of Hannah Lynch in a photograph distributed by the Italian coast guard.
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The main question investigators are focusing on is how a sailboat deemed “unsinkable” by its manufacturer, the Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a nearby sailboat remained virtually unscathed.
A total of 27 divers, including 11 cave experts and eight deep-sea divers, were called in to assist with the search for a total of 72 hours of underwater searching over 123 dives.
Hannah and her father Mike Lynch, along with Morgan Stanley International bank president Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the yacht sank at around 5 a.m. local time on Monday.
In a statement, Mr Lynch and Hannah’s family said: ‘The Lynch family are devastated, in shock and are being comforted and supported by family and friends.
‘His thoughts are with all those affected by the tragedy.
‘They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, the emergency services and all those who assisted in the rescue.
“Her only request now is that her privacy be respected at this time of indescribable pain.”
The Lynch family also posted a photo of Lynch and Hannah along with their tribute.
Hannah’s sister Esme paid her own tribute, saying: ‘Hannah would often break into my room and sleep with me.
‘Sometimes radiant and with a smile, sometimes with mischief, sometimes asking for advice.
‘No matter what, she brought me boundless love.
‘She was endlessly loving, passionately crazy, unintentionally funny, and the most amazing, supportive, joyful sister and best friend to me.
‘And on top of all this, he had even more love to give endlessly to all his friends and passion to devote to his incredible studies and goals.
‘She is my little angel, my star.’
Vincenzo Zagarola of the Italian Coast Guard said the search for Hannah was “neither easy nor quick”, comparing the sunken yacht to an “18-storey building filled with water”.
The bodies of the six missing passengers were found on the coast of the small fishing village of Porticello, about 18 kilometres from the Sicilian capital, Palermo.
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 Canadian citizen-former Recaldo Thomas, who worked as a chef on the superyacht, 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 cleared in June of massive fraud relating to its $11bn (£8.64bn) sale to US firm Hewlett Packard.
This is a developing story, more information coming soon.
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