Final body ‘found in Bayesian wreck’ in hunt for Mike Lynch’s daughter Hannah, 18, bringing search to tragic end
THE LAST body has reportedly been found in the doomed Bayesian superyacht after divers scoured the wreck for missing Brit teen Hannah Lynch.
Divers retrieved the body of her dad, Brit billionaire businessman Mike Lynch, 59, from the sunken boat on Thursday afternoon.
A source told Reuters the last body – thought to be Hannah Lynch – was located today, with the Italian coastguard later confirming the discovery to several outlets on the ground.
Local Italian outlet Giornale Di Sicilia said the body belonged to Hannah and she was spotted by divers this morning in the wreck.
The discovery takes the total number of people found dead after the tragedy to seven and means no further passengers are missing.
Search teams recovered the four bodies of Jonathan and Judy Bloomer and Chris and Neda Morvillo, who were guests on the yacht, on Wednesday.
Recaldo Thomas – the yacht chef – was found dead on Monday near the boat.
Pictures showed rescue teams bringing the body said to be Mike Lynch ashore around 8.45am local time on Thursday.
An official working at the scene told AFP on Thursday that all the missing men had been found and it was just a woman, who could only be Hannah, that they were still searching for.
Rescue divers retrieved the first two missing passengers on Wednesday afternoon, with Sicily’s civil protection chief Salvo Cocina initially telling The Telegraph the bodies belonged to Mike and Hannah.
But Italian outlet Giornale Di Sicilia later reported that the four bodies recovered were Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy and Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda.
Fifteen of the 22 onboard were rescued when the luxury yacht capsized and sank in a storm around 5am on Monday morning off the coast of Palermo near Porticello.
It plunged beneath the waves after being hammered by a rare “Black Swan” waterspout – a freak twister-like event.
According to witnesses from a small nearby boat, the 246ft tall mast was hit by a tornado, toppling the boat and causing it to capsize.
Lynch’s wife and Hannah’s mum – Angela Bacares, 57 – was one of those who managed to escape in a tiny life raft as the vessel capsized.
Captain of the doomed yacht James Cutfield, 51, was grilled by cops for over two hours after divers discovered the boat’s keel was raised – a structural backbone of the boat which could have affected its stability during the storm.
And the CEO of the firm which manufactured the boat has spoken out – claiming the yachts are “unsinkable”.
Divers said on Thursday they may raise the sunken yacht, subject to both an Italian and UK probe.
Rescuers deployed an underwater drone robot to assist in the search mission on Wednesday with pictures showing divers operating it from a boat on the surface.
It can remain underwater for up to seven hours at a depth of 300m, recording helpful images and video.
Although the 184ft yacht is “practically intact” at the bottom of the sea, rescuers were struggling to get inside because of narrow entryways, floating debris and a 10 minute time limit per dive.