Body of Mike Lynch’s daughter Hannah recovered
The body of Mike Lynch’s daughter Hannah has been recovered from the superyacht Bayesian after it sank on Monday.
The Italian coastguard confirmed the sixth and final missing person had been discovered on the vessel today.
At around 1pm local time search and rescue teams then transferred a green body bag from a boat onto land.
Several boats carrying divers had left Porticello an hour earlier to go to the site of the wreckage following the discovery.
Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the yacht sank at around 5am on Monday.
Fifteen of the 22 passengers and crew on board, including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued by emergency crews after the yacht suffered catastrophic damage owing to the waterspout.
The group had been invited onboard to celebrate Mr Lynch’s court victory, after he was acquitted of fraud in San Francisco.
02:35 PM BST
Recap of what has happened
The body of Hannah Lynch was recovered from the sunken superyacht Bayesian today.
It concluded the five-day search for missing passengers after the luxury yacht sank on Monday.
Here is a recap of the day’s events:
Divers resumed their search for the final missing body in the sunken Bayesian
The Italian coastguard said it believed there would be progress in its operation
It was estimated that raising the Bayesian will cost 15 million euros
A body believed to be that of Hannah Lynch was discovered in the wreckage
Hannah Lynch’s body was brought ashore by rescue teams
Tributes poured in for the 18-year-old who died in the sunken ship.
That is all for today. Thanks for following our live coverage. Check the website for the latest updates.
02:04 PM BST
Pictured: Hannah Lynch and the family dog ‘Faucet’
01:34 PM BST
‘Taken on the precipice of her life’: Family and friends pay tribute to Hannah Lynch
The first picture of Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah has been released by their family after her body was recovered from the superyacht Bayesian.
Specialist cave divers recovered the body of Miss Lynch from the wreck of the £30 million superyacht on the fifth day of searching. Mr Lynch’s body was recovered earlier in the week.
One friend of the family paid an emotional tribute to the 18-year-old, adding: “We have known Hannah since her birth, and for her to be taken on the precipice of her life is cruel beyond belief.”
01:10 PM BST
Friends pay tribute to Hannah Lynch
Friends have paid tribute to Hannah Lynch after her body was recovered from the sunken superyacht Bayesian.
Patrick Jacob, a family friend, said:
“Hannah was charming and ferociously intelligent with an insatiable thirst for life and knowledge. She was also warm, loving and deeply considerate; remarkably for her age. I am 50 years older than her and in my life I have never met anybody like Hannah. We have lost one of our brightest stars whose future held so much promise. Her loss is unbearable.”
Katya Lewis, Hannah’s friend, said:
“The love Hannah had for everything she held dear was passionate and pure. She had a warm and beautiful soul. Being with Hannah made me feel whole and happy. She is the most special friend anyone could ask for and I will always love Hannah.”
01:05 PM BST
Hannah Lynch loved ‘learning, literature and life’, says former teacher
Hannah Lynch’s former teacher has paid tribute to his student who loved “learning, literature and life”.
Jon Mitropoulos-Monk said: “I’ve never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did.
“She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence (though never with a hint of arrogance).”
He added: “She loved literature, learning and life. She was so excited to start studying English at Oxford, a goal she had worked so hard towards.
“I taught Hannah for four years. I will remember her for what she taught me: kindness, compassion and commitment.”
12:44 PM BST
Pictured: Rescue workers transport body of Hannah Lynch
12:38 PM BST
Manslaughter investigation launched into superyacht sinking
A manslaughter investigation is being considered by Italian authorities into the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, according to reports.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Termini Imerese is making inquiries into why the luxury yacht capsized off the coast of Porticello at around 5am on Monday, a source close to the prosecution team said.
The team led by Ambrogio Cartosio, is looking into offences of “shipwreck and multiple counts of culpable homicide against an unknown person”, similar to that of manslaughter charges in the UK, according to Palermo Today.
12:16 PM BST
Body of Hannah Lynch brought ashore
The body of Hannah Lynch has been brought back to shore by search and rescue teams.
A green body bag was transferred from a boat onto land just before 1pm local time.
It is the final body that has been recovered from the sunken Bayesian.
12:06 PM BST
Watch: Rescue boats return to Porticello as final body is recovered from Bayesian
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12:04 PM BST
Maritime trade union hits out at criticism of the Bayesian’s crew claiming it ‘undermines due process’
A maritime trade union has hit out at criticism of the Bayesian’s crew, saying it “undermines due process”.
Nautilus International’s general secretary Mark Dickinson said: “We have no doubt that the crew and master of the Bayesian are experienced maritime professionals. Any attempt to question their conduct without the full facts is not only unfair but also harmful to the process of uncovering the truth and learning any lessons from this tragedy.
“It undermines due process and denies the master and crew their right to fair treatment under the recognised IMO/ILO guidelines.”
Mr Dickinson’s remarks will be interpreted as a snub to Giovanni Costantino, founder and chief executive of the company which built the Bayesian.
On Thursday Mr Costantino claimed the Bayesian was “one of the safest boats in the world” and was virtually “unsinkable”, telling Corriere della Sera: “The passengers reported something absurd, that the storm came unexpectedly, suddenly. That is not true. Everything was predictable.
“Ask yourself – why were none of the Porticello fishermen out that night? A fisherman checks the conditions and a ship doesn’t? The disturbance was completely readable on all the weather maps. It was impossible not to know.”
James Cutfield, captain of the Bayesian, was questioned by the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office for two hours earlier this week.
11:47 AM BST
Recovery of Hannah Lynch’s body ‘in progress’
Efforts to recover Hannah Lynch’s body are “in progress”, the head of Sicily’s civil protection agency Salvatore Cocina said.
A few boats carrying divers left Porticello shortly after 12pm local time to go to the site of the sinking.
11:27 AM BST
Italian fire service dive team return to port on the fifth day of the search and recovery operation
11:23 AM BST
Manslaughter investigation launched by Italian authorities
A manslaughter investigation has been launched by Italian authorities into the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, according to reports.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Termini Imerese is making inquiries into why the luxury yacht capsized off the coast of Porticello at around 5am on Monday, a source close to the prosecution team said.
The team led by Ambrogio Cartosio, is looking into offences of “shipwreck and multiple counts of culpable homicide against an unknown person”, similar to that of manslaughter charges in the UK, according to Palermo Today.
A press conference has been announced for tomorrow morning by the prosecutors’ office, with more details expected to emerge.
The Prosecutor’s Office would not confirm the investigation to The Telegraph.
11:22 AM BST
Body believed to be Hannah Lynch found, says coastguard
A body believed to be that of Mike Lynch’s daughter Hannah, the sixth and final person missing after a luxury yacht sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily, has been found, the Italian coastguard said.
10:59 AM BST
Bayesian like ‘an 18-storey building full of water’, says expert
The sunken Bayesian has been compared to “an 18-storey building full of water” by a marine expert.
A spokesman for the Italian coastguard likened the superyacht to a tower block as he described the difficulties of the underwater search.
Vincenzo 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.”
10:36 AM BST
Divers require up to 24 hours to search one metre of Bayesian
Specialist divers need up to 24 hours to search just one metre of the sunken superyacht Bayesian, an expert has revealed.
The search of the vessel, which sank on Monday after being hit by a tornado, has entered its fifth day with the Italian fire service saying that moving within the luxury yacht is “very difficult”.
Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire rescue service, told Sky News: “It’s very difficult to move inside the wreckage.” He added: “Moving just one metre can take up to 24 hours.”
Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of the technology tycoon Mike Lynch, is the last remaining person unaccounted for. It has been suggested she may not be inside the yacht.
The Italian coastguard confirmed that the sixth and final person yet to be found is a woman.
Divers have previously spoken about the challenges of dealing with narrow corridors and floating debris obstructing their progress.
10:29 AM BST
Pictured: Italian fire service conducts searches by sea and air
10:26 AM BST
Search for Mike Lynch’s teenage daughter on sunken superyacht continues
Specialist cave divers continue their search for 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, the last person remaining unaccounted for after the superyacht Bayesian sank on Monday.
The body of technology tycoon Mike Lynch was recovered from the vessel on Thursday, but his daughter is yet to be found.
Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda Morvillo went missing when the Bayesian sank at around 5am on Monday after being hit by a tornado.
The search was called off at around 8pm last night with divers expected to resume operations this morning as the search enters its fifth day.
Five bodies have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo.
09:55 AM BST
Raising the sunken superyacht Bayesian must be done ‘very slowly’, says expert
Raising the sunken superyacht Bayesian must be done “very slowly”, a leading maritime salvage expert has said.
Nick Sloane, the South African salvage engineer, said the sea must be calm when the yacht reaches the surface.
Mr Sloane, who led the operation to recover the Costa Concordia cruise ship after it capsized off Tuscany in 2012, said: “You need to go very slowly. The important thing is that when the yacht reaches the surface, the sea must be calm.
So they’ll have to carefully check the weather forecasts.”
He said he has been talking to divers involved in the Concordia operation and they have been discussing how the operation could be carried out.
09:27 AM BST
Raising Bayesian will cost 15 million euros and take up to eight weeks, says expert
Raising the Bayesian superyacht from the seabed off Sicily will cost around 15 million euros and take six to eight weeks, a leading maritime salvage expert said.
Nick Sloane, the South African salvage engineer who led the operation to recover the Costa Concordia cruise ship after it capsized off Tuscany in 2012, said around 40 highly trained divers would be required.
A large platform would have to be towed out to sea.
From there, a giant crane would lift the yacht - but very slowly. If the yacht is pulled up too quickly it could buckle and break up under the huge pressure of seawater inside it, Mr Sloane said.
The 75 metre high mast would be cut off and removed prior to the Bayesian being lifted.
“I would say it would cost up to 15 million euros but possibly you could do it for a bit less,” Mr Sloane told La Repubblica newspaper.
“The recovery operation would take six to eight weeks. It could be completed before the second half of October.”
09:13 AM BST
Moving a metre within wreckage can take a day, says fire service
Moving within the sunken superyacht Bayesian is “very difficult” with specialist teams able to make just one metre progress a day, a spokesman for the fire service said.
Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire rescue service, told Sky News: “It’s very difficult to move inside the wreckage.”
He added: “Moving just one metre can take up to 24 hours.”
09:05 AM BST
‘Long and delicate search continues’, says Italian fire service
Divers from the Italian fire service have resumed the search for Hannah Lynch.
In a post on X, Vigili del Fuoco wrote: “In the early hours of the morning today, the divers of the fire brigade resumed the search.”
Two photos of their team at work were also shared on the social media site.
“The long and delicate search operations for the last missing person continue,” they added.
❌ #Porticello #Palermo, alle prime ore del mattino di #oggi sono riprese le immersioni in mare degli speleo #sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco: proseguono le lunghe e delicate operazioni di ricerca dell'ultimo disperso#23agosto pic.twitter.com/L56yoUmpA0
— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) August 23, 2024
08:46 AM BST
The Daily T: Why did Mike Lynch’s yacht sink?
British businessman Mike Lynch has been confirmed dead after his yacht sank off the Sicily coast during a freak storm earlier this week.
Kamal and Tim Stanley speak to the Telegraph’s Albert Tait on the ground in Sicily and maritime salvage expert Bertrand Sciboz about what happens to the wreck now. Plus Kamal reflects on Mr Lynch and his interviews with him over the years.
08:35 AM BST
Pictured: Dive teams resume search for missing Hannah Lynch
08:30 AM BST
Bayesian superyacht was ‘virtually unsinkable’, says shipbuilder
The Bayesian superyacht was “virtually unsinkable”, the chief executive of the firm that built it has claimed.
Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, close to Porticello, where the vessel went down in the early hours of Monday, have opened an investigation into the disaster.
They will seek to establish what caused the yacht to sink and whether any of the crew are criminally liable.
08:18 AM BST
Pictured: Search resumes for Hannah Lynch
08:16 AM BST
Mike Lynch’s missing daughter ‘may not be inside sunken superyacht’
Divers are searching for the missing daughter of Mike Lynch after it was suggested that she may not be inside the sunken superyacht.
Specialist cave divers are continuing their search for 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, the last person remaining unaccounted for after the Bayesian sank on Monday.
08:05 AM BST
Coastguard ‘trust’ there will be progress today
The Italian coast guard “trust” that on Friday there will be progress in the search, a spokesman said.
Asked if any developments are expected, Vincenzo Zagarola replied: “We trust”.
07:40 AM BST
Recap: What happened yesterday
As the search operation into the sunken Bayesian enters its fifth day, here is a recap of what happened yesterday:
Divers in Sicily recovered the fifth body from the wreckage, bringing the number of confirmed dead to six
The Bayesian’s shipbuilder claimed the superyacht was “virtually unsinkable”
David Davis vowed to scrap the US-UK extradition treaty in memory of Mike Lynch
Mike Lynch considered selling Bayesian before the trip, The Telegraph revealed
The family of Jonathan and Judy Bloomer said their “only comfort is they are still together”
Tributes poured in for the victims
The family of Chris and Neda Morvillo said the couple “lived their lives as devoted, loving parents to their daughters”
Hannah Lynch remained missing, according to reports from the Italian coastguard
07:31 AM BST
Superyacht crew ‘had 16-minute window’ to avoid tragedy
The crew of Mike Lynch’s superyacht had 16 minutes to avoid the tragedy, the chief executive of the firm that built the boat has claimed.
Giovanni Costantino, the founder and chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which owns the Perini Navi shipyard where the Bayesian was built, has defended the boat’s construction and blamed human error for the disaster.
07:17 AM BST
Search for Hannah Lynch continues
The search has continued for Hannah Lynch, the final person missing from the wreck of Bayesian superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily.
The body of British technology entrepreneur, Mike Lynch, was recovered from the vessel on Thursday, but his 18-year-old daughter remains missing.
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 body of Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht Bayesian, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday.
The group had gathered on the yacht to celebrate Mr Lynch’s acquittal in a long-running US fraud case.