The body of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been recovered from the sunken Bayesian superyacht off the coast of Sicily, according to Italian Interior Ministry official Massimo Mariani. Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, is still missing, and divers are continuing their search efforts in the area where the yacht sank.
Earlier on Thursday, August 22, 2024, a fifth body was brought ashore from the wreckage of the boat. A CNN team on the ground in Porticello, Sicily, witnessed Italian authorities transferring the body from a rescue boat to an ambulance.
The Bayesian, a British-flagged vessel with 22 passengers and crew members aboard, rapidly sank after its mast—one of the world’s tallest—broke in half during a violent storm. Of the people on board, 15 were rescued on Monday, and one body, thought to be the onboard chef Recaldo Thomas, was recovered at that time. Six others were initially reported missing, including Lynch and his daughter; Morgan Stanley International director Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy Bloomer; and prominent American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo.
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns the yacht’s manufacturer Perini Navi, expressed his shock at the tragedy. “Sailing ships, it is well known, are the safest in the most absolute sense,” Costantino told Sky News. He described the Bayesian as “unsinkable” and added that he was in a state of “sadness and disbelief” since learning of the sinking.
Costantino emphasized that there was no indication that the design or construction of the boat was at fault. “This episode sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact,” he said.
Unverified security camera footage, released on Wednesday, appears to show the moments the tornado sank the yacht. The grainy video, reportedly from a CCTV camera, shows the boat being battered by the storm, rocking violently from side to side before capsizing. A witness, who owns a villa overlooking the area where the Bayesian was anchored, said he reviewed his CCTV footage and saw the ship disappear in just 60 seconds. “There was nothing that could be done for the vessel,” he told Italian outlet ANSA. “It disappeared in a very short time.”
The sinking of the Bayesian is under criminal investigation, with Italian authorities working to determine the cause. Initial reports suggest a small waterspout, which developed over the area on Monday morning, could have been responsible for the yacht’s rapid sinking. Waterspouts, a type of tornado that forms over water, are rare in Sicily but can cause significant damage.
The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has also launched an investigation, deploying a team of four inspectors to Palermo to conduct a preliminary assessment of the scene.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
