Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, was found alone in her own cabin 50 metres below the surface of the Mediterranean after the yacht she was on sank, rescue workers have said.
Five others, including her father, were found in a separate compartment on the Bayesian superyacht, fire service commander Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra told reporters at a conference in Termini Imerese, a town close to the sinking site, this morning.
The Bayesian fell onto its side as it sank – and fire chief Mr Fiandra said it became apparent to the divers that the victims of the disaster had tried to seek shelter in the side of the ship facing towards the surface before they died.
Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio confirmed a question of ‘manslaughter’ had been hypothesised following initial investigations into the sinking on Monday August 19.
However, he stressed to reporters that inquiries remained at an early stage – but appeared to suggest there were questions for the crew of the Bayesian to answer. Its captain, James Cutfield, has already been interviewed by investigators.
Hannah pictured with her father, who had just been acquitted of fraud charges in the US
Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, was found dead in her own cabin 50 metres below the surface of the Mediterranean
Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio (centre) confirmed a question of ‘manslaughter’ had been hypothesised following initial investigations into the sinking on Monday August 19
Firefighter commander Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra revealed Hannah Lynch had been found alone in a cabin on the side of the yacht facing the surface
Rescue workers standing by after recovering the body of Hannah Lynch off the coast of Porticello yesterday
The press conference was assembled on Saturday as prosecutors blamed Italian civil codes for a previous lack of forthcoming information
Fire chief Mr Fiandra said: ‘You may want to know where we recovered the bodies of the victims. I can tell you… that the ship sunk and was laid onto its right hand side at the bottom of the sea.
‘It’s quite clear that the people were trying to hide in the cabins on the left-hand side and we found the first five bodies in the first cabin on the left-hand side and the final body in the third cabin on the left-hand side.
‘There were six cabins: three on the left-hand side and three on the right-hand side. We found them on the highest part of the ship going towards the surface.’
There had been questions as to why it had taken so long for Italian authorities to inform the public in detail of its rescue operations.
Mr Cartosio told reporters Italian civil codes had prevented him from releasing more information about the search while it took place, highlighting that he personally believed it created ‘notable obstacles’ to transparency with the public.
The Bayesian sank in the early hours of Monday, with the emergency services alerted shortly after 4.30am. The crew of a nearby Dutch sailing ship, the Sir Robert BP, were able to send a liferaft to help rescue 15 of the 22 people on board.
But Mr Cartosio added that it quickly became apparent to those who witnessed the disaster it would be ‘impossible’ to save those who were still trapped in the yacht as it sank to the sea bed.
He told reporters: ‘The Termini Imerese prosecution has opened a case hypothesising the crime of shipwreck and of manslaughter but we are only at the initial stage of the inquiry so far.’
He added: ‘Generally a prosecutor is never satisfied to give this information at this stage, precisely because developments could change.
‘We cannot exclude anything at all but what, there has been a lot of media interest with regards to the people were involved. But at the same time I believe it is right to anticipate developments of this inquiry can be very variable.’
The prosecutor added that it would be ‘painful’ if, theoretically, ‘this tragedy, this terrible tragedy, was caused by behaviours that were not perfectly in order with regard to the responsibility that everybody had to have (on) the ship.’
The prosecutor taking direct charge of the case, Raffaele Cammarano, was asked about the vessel’s crew undergoing alcohol and drug testing, and said officials were trying to conduct those tests.
Recaldo Thomas, chef on the Bayesian, was the first person to be recovered after the yacht sunk on Monday
Judy and Jonathan Bloomer died on the Bayesian as it pitched over in the water
The bodies of Neda and Chris Morvillo, pictured in 2018, were retrieved earlier this week
Both the hull and the superstructure, the part above the main deck, were made from aluminium
Divers heading into the water on August 23 to find Hannah Lynch’s body in a handout picture from the Italian coastguard
The main question investigators are focusing on is how a sailing vessel deemed ‘unsinkable’ by its manufacturer, Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.
A total of 27 divers, including 11 cave experts and eight deep sea divers, were called in to aid with the search across 72 total hours of searching underwater across 123 dives.
Hannah and her father Mike Lynch, alongside Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the yacht sank at around 5am local time on Monday.
In a statement, the family of Mr Lynch and Hannah said: ‘The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends.
‘Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy.
‘They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue.
‘Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief.’
The Lynch family also issued a photograph of Mr Lynch and Hannah alongside their tribute.
Hannah’s sister Esme paid her own tribute, saying: ‘Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me.
‘Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice.
‘No matter what, she brought boundless love to me.
‘She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me.
‘And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals.
‘She is my little angel, my star.’
Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian Coastguard, said the search for Hannah was not ‘easy or quick’, comparing the sunken yacht to an ’18-storey building full of water’.
The bodies of all six missing passengers have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo.
Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15, including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat.
The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday.
The boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynch’s acquittal in a fraud case in the US.
The businessman, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its 11 billion dollar (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.
This is a developing story – more to follow.
