The bodies of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and four others have been recovered from the wreckage of the superyacht Bayesian, the Financial Times reports, citing Italian officials.
Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, and four others have been missing since Monday, after an intense storm struck the Bayesian, causing it to sink off the coast of Sicily.
A total of 22 people were on board, 15 of whom were rescued, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares. The vessel’s cook, Recaldo Thomas, was confirmed dead on scene.
Divers, assisted by an underwater drone, recovered four of the corpses from the wreckage yesterday, while another was found Thursday. Hannah has yet to be accounted for, according to Sky News and CNBC.
Italian and British authorities are currently investigating what caused the Bayesian — which one boat expert called “unsinkable” — to plunge to the depths of the Mediterranean in a matter of minutes. Some reports suggest that the boat may have been struck by a waterspout, breaking the mast and causing the vessel to capsize.
The tragedy comes just two months after Lynch was acquitted on 15 charges of fraud in relation to HP’s $11bn acquisition of his startup, Autonomy, back in 2011. HP had accused Autonomy’s leadership of inflating its valuation, leading to a 12-year legal battle that Lynch won.
Lynch, who had been under house arrest in San Fransico for over a year in the lead-up to the trial, was holidaying in Sicily enjoying his new found freedom when disaster struck. Lynch had invited members of his legal team and his defence witness, Jonathan Bloomer, on board the Bayesian to celebrate the courtroom victory.
While not yet confirmed, the identities of the other four people are assumed to be Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer and Lynch’s lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo.
In a separate incident, Lynch’s co-defendant in the case, Stephen Chamberlain, was struck by a car and killed while out jogging on Saturday morning.
We will update this story once we know more.