SCUBA divers searching the wreck of British tech magnate Mike Lynch's family yacht, which sank off the coast of Sicily two days ago, have discovered two bodies inside, according to a source close to the rescue operations on Wednesday (21). One of the bodies was identified as that of a heavily built man, the source reported.
Rescue teams have been searching for six missing individuals, including Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter, and Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International.
The British-flagged yacht, Bayesian, a 56-metre (184-ft) superyacht, was carrying 22 people and was anchored off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, when it capsized during a severe storm on Monday (19).
Fifteen people survived the accident, while the body of the onboard chef, Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, was found near the wreck shortly after the disaster.
The inspection of the wreck, which lies on its side at a depth of approximately 50 metres, has been described as a "long and complex" operation by the Italian fire department, with divers facing obstructions from furniture and debris and having only 8-10 minutes underwater before needing to resurface.
Investigation continues
In addition, the coast guard has deployed a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to scan the seabed and capture underwater images and videos that may provide "useful and timely elements" for prosecutors investigating the disaster.
Survivors, including the captain of the Bayesian and passengers on a nearby yacht, have been questioned by authorities, though no one is currently under investigation, according to judicial sources.
No one is under investigation at the moment, sources added.
Lynch, 59, is one of the UK's best-known tech entrepreneurs and has been referred to as the country's Bill Gates.
He built the UK's largest software firm, Autonomy, which was sold to HP for $11 billion (£8.42bn) in 2011, after which the deal spectacularly unravelled with the US tech giant accusing him of fraud, resulting in a lengthy trial.
Lynch was acquitted on all charges by a jury in San Francisco in June.
The other missing passengers were Bloomer's wife Judy, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo. Morvillo represented Lynch in the San Francisco trial, while Bloomer was a character witness on his behalf.
Experts have been at a loss to explain how a large luxury vessel, presumed to have top-class fittings and safety features, could have sunk within minutes, as recounted by witnesses. The yacht anchored next to it was unharmed by the tempest.
The Bayesian, which was owned by Lynch's wife, was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008 and last refitted in 2020. It had the world's tallest aluminium mast, measuring 72 metres, according to its makers.
Its captain James Cutfield, a 51-year-old New Zealander who survived the shipwreck, was a "very good sailor" and "very well respected" in the Mediterranean, his brother Mark told The New Zealand Herald.
Matthew Schanck, chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, a UK-based non-profit organisation that trains sea rescuers, said the Bayesian was the victim of a "high impact" weather-related incident.
"If it was a water spout, which it appears to be, it's what I would class as like a 'black swan' event," he told Reuters, referring to a rare and unpredictable phenomenon.
He said he was confident the authorities would "get to the bottom" of what caused the shipwreck, thanks to the accounts of survivors, witnesses and examination of the sunken hull, which did not show any apparent signs of damage. (Reuters)
