Divers find body of Mike Lynch's daughter Hannah, 18, missing after superyacht sank
Italian divers have retrieved the body of Mike Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, Hannah Lynch, the last person who went missing after the Bayesian, the British tech tycoon's family yacht, sank off the coast of Sicily earlier this week.
The 184-feet-long, U.K.-registered vessel capsized and rapidly sank off the port of Porticello, near Sicily's capital of Palermo, as an unexpected storm swept the area before sunrise on Monday.
Specialist divers discovered Hannah Lynch's body on Friday after five days of scouring the sunken boat, an unnamed senior official with knowledge of the rescue operation told Reuters.
The disaster set off an exhaustive search for six of its 22 passengers, who were unaccounted for after the ship sank. Mike Lynch's body was discovered on Thursday, while the bodies of Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International, his wife, Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance attorney Chris Morvillo, who was a U.S. citizen, and his wife, Neda Morvillo, were discovered on Wednesday. The five bodies were all located inside the sunken ship.
Recaldo Thomas, the ship's cook and a citizen of Antigua, was pronounced dead on Monday after his body was found near the ship. Thomas also went by Ricardo, according to media reports.
The bodies will be officially identified and autopsies will be performed in Palermo.
The fire brigade said on Friday the rescue operation was "long and delicate" – the ship sits more than 160 feet underwater, and its inner passageways are narrow, posing a challenge to divers. More than 400 rescuers were involved, including 28 specialist divers, officials said.
Lynch's family said in a statement on Friday the family "is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends."
"Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue," they wrote.
"Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief."
Breaking news, in your pocket. Sign up for Paste BN's Daily Briefing newsletter.
A judicial investigation has been opened into the sinking, which has baffled naval marine experts, who say a boat like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have withstood the storm.
Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese have opened an investigation into whether human errors were a factor. Coast Guard officials already have questioned the captain, James Cutfield, and surviving crew members and passengers as part of the investigation.
A maritime legal expert told Paste BN the disaster could lead to lawsuits and possible criminal charges against Cutfield.
"As far as the charges, it appears that the captain will be investigated for not having due diligence in command of his vessel," said Mitchell Stoller, a maritime expert witness and captain. "He cannot discharge his duties."
Stoller said a captain's general duties include watching local weather reports and preparing for incoming storms. He said ships usually don't remain anchored during a storm so that they can maneuver in turbulent waters − Italian authorities have said the Bayesian was likely anchored before the disaster.
"The general standard of care in this situation is to monitor the weather, exercise caution, have a night watch, have the engine going, ready to maneuver," he said.
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini, told Reuters the crew made a string of "indescribable, unreasonable errors" in the leadup to the disaster. Design or construction errors did not play a role, he said.
No charges have so far been announced. Prosecutors will hold a news conference on Saturday.
Cutfield did not immediately return a request for comment from Paste BN sent on Friday to a Facebook profile that appeared to belong to him. It is unclear if Cutfield has retained an attorney.
Complex Salvage Operation
Further inspections of the ship, which officials say is intact and lying on its right side, could give investigators more clues. Authorities may pull it out of the water, but the operation would be expensive and complicated.
Nick Sloane, a South African engineer who led the operation to recover the Costa Concordia, a cruise liner that sank 12 years ago, estimated such an operation could cost up to $16.7 million, in interviews with Italian media on Friday.
Pulling the yacht to the surface could take several days, and would need to be done "very, very slowly," he told daily La Repubblica. The entire operation could take up to eight weeks and would need to be completed by mid-October, he said.
Contributing: Reuters