Porticello, Italy (CNN)---- The body of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been recovered from the sunken Bayesian superyacht, according to Italian interior ministry official Massimo Mariani, who spoke to Reuters on Thursday.
Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, remains missing, and divers continue to search the area where the vessel went down.
Earlier on Thursday, a fifth body was retrieved from the wreckage. A CNN team on the ground witnessed Italian authorities transferring the body from a rescue boat to ambulances at the Sicilian port of Porticello.
As investigators continue to examine the cause of the wreck, the CEO of the company that owns the vessel’s manufacturer has described the Bayesian as “unsinkable.”
“Sailing ships, as is widely known, are the safest in the most absolute sense,” Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, said in an interview with Sky News. “Firstly, they present very little surface area compared to a yacht when facing into the wind. Secondly, with the structure of the drift keel, they essentially become unsinkable.”
Costantino expressed his "sadness and disbelief" upon hearing that the Bayesian—built in 2008 by the Italian company Perini Navi, which The Italian Sea Group acquired in 2021—had sunk early Monday.
The British-flagged vessel, carrying 22 passengers and crew members, sank rapidly after its mast, one of the tallest in the world, snapped in half during a violent storm. Fifteen people were rescued on Monday, and one body—believed to be that of the onboard chef, Recaldo Thomas—was recovered. Six others were initially reported missing.
The six individuals initially reported missing were Mike Lynch and his daughter, Hannah; Jonathan Bloomer, director at Morgan Stanley International, and his wife, Judy Bloomer; along with prominent American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo.
Italian authorities have not yet disclosed the names of all the recovered bodies. In Italy, before authorities can confirm the identity, a close relative must formally identify the body, followed by confirmation from a coroner or the prosecutor’s office.
Since the sinking of the Bayesian is under criminal investigation, formal identifications will likely be issued by the prosecutor’s office, as Italy’s civil protection agencies do not have the authority to confirm victims’ identities.
Emergency crews have faced challenging conditions in their efforts to access the wreck, which lies about 50 meters (approximately 150 feet) underwater. Divers have had just 12 minutes to reach and explore the site before needing to resurface.
Initial reports suggest that a small waterspout, which formed over the area in Sicily on Monday morning, may have caused the yacht to sink.
Four days later, Italian authorities are still working to determine how the 56-meter (184-foot) yacht went down so quickly. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has also launched an investigation, announcing on Wednesday that it would send a team of four inspectors to Palermo to conduct a preliminary assessment of the scene.
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