British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch’s body was retrieved on Thursday from his family yacht, the Bayesian, which sank off the coast of Sicily earlier this week. The 184-foot vessel went down on August 19, reportedly after being hit by a waterspout—a type of tornado over water. Despite assurances from the yacht’s manufacturer about its unsinkability, the vessel sank swiftly.
Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, is still missing. Massimo Mariani, an Italian interior ministry official, indicated that there is a growing concern she may have been swept out to sea. If she remains within the wreck, retrieving her body could prove difficult due to the yacht’s position on its side, submerged 165 feet underwater.
Celebration Turns to Disaster
Lynch, 59, was celebrating his recent acquittal in a U.S. fraud trial with family and friends aboard the yacht. He had faced allegations of “accounting improprieties” from HP, which bought his company, Autonomy, for $11 billion in 2011. Lynch had spoken about how his wealth helped him navigate the prolonged legal battle. The celebration turned tragic when the yacht was struck by the waterspout early in the morning.
Rescue Efforts and Survivors
Fifteen people, including a baby, managed to escape the sinking yacht using a life raft and were rescued by the Dutch ship Sir Robert Baden Powell. The survivors, including Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, who owns the Bayesian, were in a state of shock, according to the ship’s captain, Karsten Börner.
Among the deceased were Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International, and Christopher Morvillo from Clifford Chance, along with their wives, Judy Bloomer and Neda Morvillo. The body of the yacht’s chef, Canadian-Antiguan Recaldo Thomas, was also recovered near the wreck.
Investigation Underway
A judicial investigation has been launched to determine why the yacht sank. Naval experts are perplexed, as a yacht of Bayesian’s quality, built by the prestigious Perini, was expected to endure such conditions. Giovanni Costantino, CEO of the Italian Sea Group which owns Perini, described the Bayesian as “one of the safest boats in the world” and suggested crew negligence could have contributed to the sinking.
Challenging Recovery Operations
Divers face extremely challenging conditions as they search the wreck. Their efforts are being likened to those following the Costa Concordia disaster in 2012, which claimed 32 lives. The yacht’s tracking system showed it took only 16 minutes from the onset of the storm to sink, indicating rapid water intake.
Captain’s Responsibility
Maritime law places full responsibility for the vessel, crew, and passengers’ safety on the captain. Captain James Cutfield and his surviving crew have not yet commented publicly. Investigators will examine whether any openings, especially a main door on the yacht’s left side, may have allowed water to flood in.
Once the final body is recovered, experts will decide whether to salvage the Bayesian or leave it. This decision will be influenced by further investigations into how the waterspout overcame the yacht. The findings may lead to changes in safety protocols for luxury yachts to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
