Porticello, Italy. The body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch was recovered from the wreckage of his family’s superyacht, the Bayesian, on Thursday, following its tragic sinking off the coast of Sicily earlier this week. Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, remains missing, according to Italian authorities.
Massimo Mariani, an official from Italy’s interior ministry, confirmed that Lynch’s body was found and brought ashore in a blue body bag, later transported to a hospital morgue. Despite ongoing rescue efforts, Hannah Lynch is still unaccounted for. Mariani stated, “It is possible that Hannah Lynch’s body is not in the boat and may have been swept out to sea.”
The Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) superyacht flying the British flag, was anchored off the port of Porticello near Palermo when it was struck by a violent storm in the early hours of Monday. The yacht, carrying 22 passengers and crew members, disappeared beneath the waves within minutes.
Among the other victims were Judy and Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo; and the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan national. Thomas’ body was found near the wreck on Monday.
Fifteen people, including Lynch’s wife, managed to survive the disaster. The families of the missing have yet to comment publicly on the tragedy.
Rescue teams, facing extreme challenges due to the depth and confined spaces of the submerged yacht, have been searching inside the hull for the past three days. The yacht rests on its side at a depth of 50 meters (165 feet), making the search particularly difficult. Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire brigade, warned that it might take days before all the missing bodies are recovered.
The sinking of the Bayesian has perplexed naval experts. The yacht, built by the renowned Italian manufacturer Perini, was considered to be among the safest vessels of its kind. Giovanni Costantino, CEO of the Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini, described the Bayesian as “one of the safest boats in the world” and suggested that the crew might have failed to follow proper safety protocols. He remarked to Corriere della Sera newspaper, “A Perini boat survived the Category 5 Katrina hurricane. Do you think one couldn’t survive a waterspout here?”
The captain of the yacht, James Cutfield, and his eight surviving crew members have not yet made any public statements regarding the incident. Under maritime law, the captain holds full responsibility for the safety of the ship and everyone on board.
A judicial investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the disaster. Experts will also decide whether, or how, to salvage the vessel once the final body is recovered. Costantino mentioned that the yacht’s automatic tracking system indicated that it took just 16 minutes from the onset of the storm to the sinking, suggesting that large amounts of water were taken in, possibly due to open doorways or hatches.
The Bayesian’s sinking has drawn comparisons to the Costa Concordia disaster in 2012, where a luxury cruise liner capsized off the Italian island of Giglio, resulting in the deaths of 32 people. The captain of the Costa Concordia is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence for his role in that catastrophe.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
