Sixth body found in Sicily yacht wreck, reports say
Rescue boats were out on the water this morning for the fifth day of the search and recovery operation
Divers have located a sixth body in the wreckage of a luxury yacht which sank off Sicily, believed to be that of 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, according to reports in Italian media.
Hannah was the last person unaccounted for after the luxury yacht Bayesian foundered during a freak storm off the Italian fishing village of Porticello, east of Palermo, claiming seven lives in total.
Five bodies, including that of Hannah’s father, tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, have already been found by divers in the wreck, which is lying on the seabed at a depth of 50 metres (164ft).
The body of the ship’s chef was earlier found near the yacht.
A total of 15 people survived, including a one-year-old child and Hannah’s mother, Angela Bacares.
Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo and the boat’s chef Recaldo Thomas all died in the disaster.
Rescuers described the operation, which has been ongoing since Monday, as “complex”, with divers limited to 12-minute underwater shifts.
A decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is “not on the agenda” but will be in the future, a spokesperson from the Italian Coastguard has said.
The ship was “practically intact” on the seabed, according to divers on the search and rescue team.
Image source, PA Media
An Italian fire service dive team pictured returning to port on Friday
Hannah Lynch had recently finished her A-levels and had been offered a place to study English at the University of Oxford, according to the Times.
“We are all incredibly shocked by the news,” a spokesperson for London’s Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, where Hannah was a former pupil, said.
“Our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved,” they added.
