A sixth body has been found following the Sicily yacht disaster
A body believed to be that of tech mogul Mike Lynch’s daughter Hannah has been found, the Italian Coastguard has confirmed.
The superyacht sunk after a ‘violent’ storm hit it off the coast of Sicily on Monday (August 19).
And now, local officials have said that the sixth and final missing person had been located on the sunken Bayesian on Friday (August 23). Two bodies had previously been located by divers on Wednesday (August 21).
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’.
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 onboard when the yacht sank at around 5.00am earlier this week.
Mike Lynch was among those missing. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Five bodies have already been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo.
According to PA, the sixth body has since been recovered from the wreck at just before 1pm local time, and was taken to Porticello in a green body bag.
Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 – including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares – were rescued after escaping onto a lifeboat.
The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the yacht, was also recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday.
Gareth Williams, a friend of the chef, told the BBC: “I can talk for everyone that knew him when I say he was a well-loved, kind human being with a calm spirit.”
Meanwhile, Vincenzo Zagarola, the Italian coastguard, spoke to the media about the whereabouts of the missing individuals.
A rescue mission has taken place this week. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
He told the PA news agency: “We think they are still inside the boat, that is our very hard idea. Of course, we do not exclude that they are not inside the boat, but we know the boat sank quickly.
“We suppose that the six people missing may not have had time to get out of the boat.”
A report from Reuters on Thursday (August 22) stated that a source close to the rescue operation said Lynch’s body had been retrieved from the wreck.
The body was reportedly taken to the port of Porticello in a blue body bag just after 8.45am local time yesterday.
The boat trip was a celebration of Lynch’s acquittal in a fraud case in the US.
Lynch was cleared of 15 counts of fraud after Silicon Valley giant Hewlett-Packard purchased his company Autonomy for $11.1 billion back in 2011.
Featured Image Credit: Getty/ALBERTO PIZZOLI
