Top line
The bodies of two of the six passengers missing after the Bayesian yacht sank off the coast of Sicily earlier this week have been found by rescue workers, Reuters first reported on Wednesday morning. But who they are and whether their bodies have been recovered from the wreckage remain unclear.
The fire department’s diving team will leave the harbor on Wednesday towards the Bayesian yacht’s dive site. … (+)
Key data
The bodies, reportedly including at least one man, were found in the ship’s hull, The Guardian reported, citing anonymous sources.
The news came half an hour after it was reported that rescue workers had managed to break open the ship’s main hull, but access to some cabins remained blocked by furniture and other debris.
The luxury yacht sank in bad weather in the early hours of Monday. The six people who are missing are British technology entrepreneur Michael Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International CEO Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, and lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda.
The death of one person, presumably the yacht’s cook, Recaldo Thomas, was confirmed, and 15 others were rescued.
A spokesman for the Italian coast guard said on Tuesday that the missing people were presumed dead. However, Jeremy Bloomer, Jonathan Bloomer’s twin brother, expressed hope that some of those still on board might have survived the wait for their rescuers in air pockets.
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Key quote
“It’s a slow process and it’s going to take time,” Jeremy Bloomer told the BBC. “There may be air pockets, but we don’t know… We’re coping as best we can and we’re all just supporting each other.”
Important background
The Bayesian, a 184-foot luxury sailing yacht owned by Lynch’s family, was anchored near Porticello Harbor with 12 crew and 10 guests on board. A storm hitting the coast is believed to have caused a “waterspout,” a swirling column of air and water that tipped the boat into the sea. The ship’s massive plank and mast – it had the world’s tallest aluminum mast at 246 feet – pulled the vessel underwater and it sank. 15 people were rescued from the vessel. Of these, eight were treated at local hospitals and have since been released.
Who was on board the Bayesian yacht?
Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah were among the first identified as missing. Lynch is the founder of software company Autonomy Corporation, Invoke Capital and cybersecurity firm Darktrace. His daughter was reportedly due to attend Oxford University in the fall. Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, is the legal owner of the ship and was among those rescued. Also on board were Lynch family guests, including Morvillo, Lynch’s lawyer, and his wife and jewelry designer Neda Morvillo. Bloomer, 70, is reportedly a close friend of Lynch’s. His wife Judy is also missing. Among those rescued were Charlotte Golunski, a partner at Lynch’s Invoke Capital, her partner and their young daughter. Lawyer Ayla Ronald and her partner were also rescued.
Surprising fact
The ship’s sinking came two months after Lynch, a former billionaire, was acquitted in a fraud trial. Hewlett-Packard had accused him and his colleagues of artificially inflating the value of software company Autonomy before HP bought it in 2011. Bloomer testified as a defense witness in Lynch’s trial, according to the Associated Press, and Morvillo was one of the lawyers in the case. The same weekend the ship sank, Lynch’s co-defendant Stephen Chamberlain was hit by a car while jogging and died Monday after being put on life support in a British hospital.
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