British tech giant Mike Lynch is among five bodies recovered from a superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday, the Italian Coast Guard said.
The news comes as rescuers found a fifth body on Thursday. Crews were seen bringing a body bag ashore at Porticello Port in Italy.
Dive teams have been making progress in their search for six people who went missing after a yacht went underwater in a matter of minutes on Monday. Rescuers had found four of the bodies on Wednesday when they were able to gain access into the hull of the yacht deep underwater.
Lynch — who was recently acquitted of fraud in the U.S. — and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch, were among the six reported missing.
Also missing were Mike Lynch’s lawyer Chris Morvillo, who represented him in the fraud trial, and his wife, jewelry designer Neda Morvillo. Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of the Morgan Stanley International bank and insurance company Hiscox was also missing, alongside his wife Judy Bloomer. Jonathan Bloomer recently served as a defense witness in Lynch’s fraud case.
With five bodies now recovered, the coast guard identified the last missing person as a woman. Reports say the female who remains unaccounted for is the tech mogul’s daughter Hannah Lynch.
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Because of the difficult nature of the rescues, officials said it’s hard to tell when the final person will be found.
“We would need a crystal ball to know when we’ll be able to find the next body,” said Luca Cari, spokesperson for the fire rescue service, according to AP.
“It’s very difficult to move inside the wreckage. Moving just one meter can take up to 24 hours,” Cari added.
The yacht sank in a storm early Monday with 22 people on board. Fifteen people escaped via a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby sailboat. Civil protection officials believe the yacht was struck by a tornado over the water, AP said.
One person was also found dead that day. That person was the yacht’s chef, Ricardo Thomas.
The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation branch is launching an investigation into the watercraft’s sinking.
Italian authorities said the British investigation is not involved in search, recovery and rescue missions, but that they will be at some point due to the fact that the Bayesian yacht involved in the incident was British-flagged.
Additional investigations are expected to determine what caused the incident and why the yacht sank so quickly.
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