Italian divers announced on Thursday that they have recovered all but one of the six missing bodies following this week’s yacht shipwreck, which involved British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his guests. The Italian Coast Guard stated that the remaining body is that of a woman, implying that Mr. Lynch’s body may be among those already recovered. However, authorities have yet to confirm the identities of the five bodies found over the past two days.
The six missing individuals have been identified as Mr. Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Jonathan Bloomer (the chairman of Morgan Stanley International), his wife Judy Bloomer, lawyer Christopher J. Morvillo from Clifford Chance, and his wife Neda Morvillo.
The yacht named Bayesian had 12 passengers and 10 crew members onboard when it encountered an abrupt and violent storm early Monday. Meteorologists reported strong winds and lightning storms, with meteorologists believing descending air from an imminent thunderstorm or waterspouts (a phenomenon similar to tornadoes over water) may have hit it hard enough.
The yacht accommodated 12 guests in its six cabins; any open hatches, doors, or cabin windows during a storm may have allowed water into these living quarters, according to its manufacturer.
Rescue teams comprised of deep-sea divers from the Italian firefighters’ corps coordinated by the coast guard and helicopters and rescue ships have been working to reach a vessel that came to rest upside-down about 165 feet below the surface. Unfortunately, its depth presented divers with additional difficulties that limited how long they could spend diving underwater thus slowing the search process down significantly.
On Wednesday and Thursday, rescue teams successfully recovered four bodies each time; these bodies were brought ashore in body bags while reporters and onlookers observed.
