The body of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter was retrieved from the wreckage of the Bayesian superyacht Friday — as Italian authorities reportedly launched a manslaughter probe into what caused the tragedy.
Hannah Lynch was the last remaining person still unaccounted for after the yacht sank off the coast of Sicily after being struck by a storm on Monday – sparking a massive search and rescue operation.
“The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends,” a family spokesperson said in confirming her body had been found Friday.
“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.”
The teen’s body was discovered – and brought ashore – around noon local time by specialist divers who have been scouring the sunken vessel for the past five days, the Italian Coast Guard said.
The fire brigade had earlier described the rescue operations, which involved more than 400 people, including 28 specialist divers, as “long and delicate.”
The body of yacht owner Lynch was recovered Thursday, a day after rescuers found the bodies of five of his passengers, including New York attorney Christopher Morvillo and the lawyer’s wife, Neda.
The discovery of the final body came as Italian authorities launched a manslaughter investigation into what downed the $40 million yacht after it was struck by an intense storm early Monday, local media reported.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Termini Imerese had started making inquiries and was looking at a slew of offenses — including “shipwreck and multiple counts of culpable homicide against an unknown person”, sources told Palermo Today.
What to know after a tornado sank the yacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily:
- A superyacht capsized off the coast of Sicily after a tornado hit the area early Monday, killing seven passengers.
- British tech tycoon Mike Lynch was identified as one of the bodies pulled from the wreckage. His teenage daughter, Hannah, was the final one to be recovered.
- Lynch — known as “Britain’s Bill Gates” — had invited guests from Clifford Chance, a legal firm that represented him, and Invoke Capital, his own company, on the voyage, according to the Telegraph.
- Security camera footage shot from 650 feet from where the Bayesian sank Monday shows it disappearing.
- A rare and unexpected “black swan” weather event may have led to the Bayesian’s speedy demise, maritime experts say.
A judicial probe has also been launched 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 been able to withstand the storm.
Giovanni Costantino, the founder and chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini, was quick to defend the boat’s construction — instead blaming human error for the deadly disaster.
He said the crew would have had a 16-minute window to avoid the loss of life.
“The torture lasted 16 minutes. It went down, not in one minute as some scientists have said. It went down in 16 minutes. You can see it from the charts, from the AIS [Automatic Identification System] tracking chart,” he told The Financial Times.
“The captain should have prepared the boat and put it in a state of alert and of safety.”
“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,” he added.
The sailboat had been carrying 22 passengers and crew when it went down.
Those on board were there to help Lynch celebrate his recent acquittal in a major US fraud trial.
The body of the on-ship chef, Ricardo Thomas, the first confirmed fatality, was discovered shortly after the Bayesian sank.
The others recovered have been confirmed to be Big Apple attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda, as well as Morgan Stanley exec Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy.
Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, and 14 others — including a 1-year-old child — managed to escape the sinking ship before it capsized.
With Post wires