Drones & divers to keep scouring Bayesian wreck as saga ‘moves to investigation mode’ after Hannah Lynch’s body found
THE Bayesian saga has moved into investigation mode after the body of the final missing person was found today.
Divers, aided by hi-tech underwater drones, will continue scouring the yacht wreckage before it is raised from the seabed off the coast of Sicily.
The 184ft luxury sailboat – owned by tech tycoon Mike Lynch – was sunk in a fierce storm in the early hours of Monday, with 22 people on board.
Questions continue to be raised about the lead up to the tragedy, which saw seven people die, including Mr Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Italian authorities are investigating offences of shipwreck and multiple culpable homicide – similar to the charge of manslaughter in the UK – against unknown persons, according to Italian media.
It comes after the final minutes onboard the yacht – which was struck by a rare tornadic waterspout amid a fierce storm – have been revealed thanks to its black-box.
Hannah’s body was the last to be retrieved from the wreckage on Friday morning.
Others to perish included Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo.
Yacht chef Recaldo Thomas also died, with his body pulled from the open water near the wreckage site soon after the search began.
Officials confirmed the search for those missing had been brought to an end this morning.
A green body bag was brought to the port of Porticello.
It comes as…
- Brit teen Hannah Lynch was found on the sunken boat on Friday as her family paid tribute
- Five bodies were recovered from the yacht wreck on Wednesday and Thursday including Brit tycoon Mike Lynch
- The CEO of the firm that produced the Bayesian said the boat is ‘unsinkable’ and pointed to human error
- Captain James Cutfield was quizzed for two hours by cops and remains at the centre of a probe
- Experts believe the yacht’s ‘tallest mast in the world‘ may have contributed to the disaster after a freak ‘Black Swan’ weather event struck
- Pictures showed the tiny raft that saved up to 15 people
- Frantic text messages from the survivors revealed the chaos
Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian Coastguard, said the search for Hannah has not been “easy or quick”, comparing the sunken yacht to an “18-storey building full of water”.
Mr Zagarola said: “From the first moment, it has not been easy or quick to inspect the boat.
“Think of an 18-storey building full of water.”
The bodies of all six missing passengers have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo.
Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 – including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares – were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat.
The boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynch’s acquittal in a fraud case in the US.
The businessman, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its 11 billion dollar (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.
Mr Zagarola previously said a decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is “not on the agenda”, but will be in the future.
The luxury yacht’s captain, James Cutfield, has reportedly been questioned by authorities in connection with the sunken yacht.
Giovanni Costantino, chief executive of the firm that built the yacht, told The Times it was “absurd” that passengers on the yacht were in their cabins.
He told the newspaper: “Why were (they) in their cabins?
“Local fishermen saw the storm was coming, why did no-one on board the Bayesian realise?
“From 3.50am, the captain had four minutes to get the passengers out of their cabins.”
He continued: “They should have jettisoned the anchor, started the engine, pointed the bows to the wind and put the keel down.
“If they had done that, no-one on board would have been afraid, they would have been back to bed in an hour and ready to push on with their voyage.”
Tributes have been paid to those who died in the disaster, with some describing Mr Lynch as a “visionary unlike any other”.
Eleanor Lightbody, the chief executive of the legal AI company he founded called Luminance, said: “He had a unique ability to spot the next technological revolution and solve tomorrow’s challenges before others even knew they were coming.
“Above all, Mike was a kind man who had an impact on many and will be sorely missed. I feel honoured to have known him, worked with him and learnt from him over the years.”
Emily Lynch, in a tribute to her sister Hannah, said: “Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me.
“Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice.
“No matter what, she brought boundless love to me.
“She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me.
“And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals.
“She is my little angel, my star.”
In a tribute to Mr Lynch, family friend Albert Read said: “I’ve never met anyone like Mike – a searing intellect, a steel that would transform the world around him, an instinct for family and friends – organising children’s treasure hunts, big gatherings of neighbours in Suffolk – and, with Angela, a determination to light up the worlds of art and science for his two beloved daughters.
“Warm, funny, brilliant, loyal and exceptionally brave, with a heart as big as his brain.”
In a statement confirming their parents’ deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as “incredible people and an inspiration to many”.
They said: “Our parents were incredible people and an inspiration to many, but first and foremost they were focused on and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren.
“Together for five decades, our only comfort is that they are still together now.”
A helicopter, remotely controlled underwater vehicles, naval units and cave divers have been used in the search.
Bayesian was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank as the area was hit by a storm.
The wreckage of the Bayesian is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50 metres (164ft).
Prosecutors in the nearby town Termini Imerese are scheduled to hold a press conference on Saturday morning.