PORTICELLO, Italy (AP) — The body of British technology magnate Mike Lynch was one of those recovered off the coast of Sicily from the wreckage of a sunken superyacht, the Italian Coast Guard reported on Thursday.
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A woman is still missing. She has not been identified, but Hannah Lynch, Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, has not been found, according to reports. The family was celebrating the recent acquittal of the tycoon on fraud charges, along with the people who defended him in a trial in the United States.
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The bodies of Lynch and five other people were recovered by rescue teams after the tragedy that occurred on Monday.
The Bayesian, a 184-foot long yacht with a British flag, sank during a storm early Monday morning while anchored approximately half a mile off the coast. Civil Protection officials believe the vessel was hit by a tornado over the water, or waterspout, and sank quickly.
Investigators from the Public Prosecutor's Office in Termini Imerse were collecting evidence for a criminal investigation, which they opened immediately after the tragedy, even though no formal suspects have been publicly identified.
The CEO of Italian Sea Group, owner of the manufacturer of the Bayesian, said that superyachts like that "are the safest in every way."
“First of all, because they have very little surface area compared to yachts that face the wind,” said CEO Giovanni Costantino to Sky News on Wednesday. “Second, due to their structure, their keel, they become unsinkable bodies.”
Authorities are now investigating why the Bayesian, built in 2008 by the Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while another nearby boat remained virtually unscathed.
Fifteen out of the 22 people on board managed to escape in a lifeboat, including a mother who reportedly held her one-year-old daughter above the waves to save her. They were rescued by the ship Sir Robert Baden Powell.
The ship's captain, Karsten Borner, stated that his ship only suffered the breaking of the frame of a canopy, even with the winds that, according to his calculations, reached a magnitude of 12 on the Beaufort wind scale, which is the highest hurricane force on that scale.
He pointed out that his boat remained anchored with the engines on to try to maintain his position as the storm approached, which had already been forecasted.
"Another possibility is to weigh anchor before the storm and head in the direction of the wind towards open sea," Borner said in a text message, but he stated that this would not have been possible for the Bayesian, due to its mast being 75 meters (236 feet) tall.
"If there was a stability problem caused by the extremely tall mast, it wouldn't have improved in open sea," he said.
Yachts like the Bayesian must have watertight compartments, specifically designed to prevent a rapid and catastrophic sinking, even if some parts become filled with water.
Lynch is the only person whose death has been confirmed; the other bodies have not been formally identified by the Italian Coast Guard.
In addition to Hannah Lynch, the missing individuals are Christopher Morvillo, one of Lynch's American lawyers, and his wife, Neda; Jonathan Bloomer, the London branch president of Morgan Stanley's investment banking division, and his wife, Judy; and Recaldo Thomas, the chef of the superyacht.
Divers have had difficulties finding the bodies in the hull of the yacht, which is sunk 50 meters (164 feet) underwater.
"We would need a crystal ball to know when we will find another corpse," said Luca Cari, spokesperson for the rescue service.
“It’s very difficult to move within the wreckage. Moving just one meter can take up to 24 hours,” said Cari.