The Italian coast guard reported on Thursday that the body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch was found among those recovered off the coast of Sicily from the wreckage of a superyacht that was believed to be unsinkable.
One woman is still missing, with reports indicating that it may be Hannah Lynch, Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter. The family had been celebrating Lynch’s recent acquittal on fraud charges with those who supported him during the trial in the United States.
Following the tragic incident on Monday, rescue teams managed to recover five other individuals from the sunken yacht.
The Bayesian, a 56-meter British-flagged yacht, sank during a storm while moored about a kilometer offshore. Officials believe the ship was hit by a waterspout and sank rapidly.
Investigators from the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office have initiated a criminal investigation into the incident, although no formal suspects have been identified yet.
The CEO of The Italian Sea Group, the company that owns the yacht’s manufacturer, stated that superyachts like the Bayesian are designed to be unsinkable due to their construction and the safety measures in place.
He added that sailing ships require greater skill to operate compared to motor boats and suggested that hitting rocks violently or taking in water could have led to the sinking of the yacht.
Further investigations are being conducted to determine why the Bayesian sank while a nearby sailboat remained relatively unscathed. Survivors reported escaping on a lifeboat and being rescued by another sailboat.
Yachts like the Bayesian are equipped with watertight compartments to prevent rapid sinking even if parts of the vessel fill with water.
As of now, Lynch is the only confirmed fatality, with other bodies yet to be formally identified. The search continues for the missing individuals, including Hannah Lynch.
Divers are facing challenges in locating the bodies within the sunken yacht’s hull on the seabed.
Efforts to retrieve the bodies are ongoing, but the difficult conditions underwater are slowing down the process.
