PORTICELLO, Italy — The body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch was recovered from the wreck of a superyacht that sank off Sicily, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC on Thursday.
The source said rescuers were still searching for Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, the last person missing from the luxury boat, which went down in what authorities said was a freak storm early Monday.
A massive search effort was launched, and four bodies were recovered from the 180-foot Bayesian on Wednesday after an operation hampered by the depth to which the wreck had sunk and the debris that blocked divers’ path through its narrow passages.
Salvatore Cocina, head of Sicily’s civil protection agency, confirmed to NBC News on Thursday morning that a fifth body had been recovered. And hours later, CNBC reported that the body of Lynch, regularly described in U.K. media as “Britain’s Bill Gates,” was among them.
The U.K.'s Royal Academy of Engineering said Thursday morning that it was “deeply saddened to learn of the death of Mike Lynch,” who is one of its fellows. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time,” the academy said in a statement on X.
The others missing were Lynch's associates, who had successfully defended him in a blockbuster U.S. fraud trial earlier this summer: Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International and the British insurance firm Hiscox, and his wife, Judy; and a well-known New York City defense attorney, Christopher Morvillo, and his wife, Neda.
The body of Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian Antiguan national who was the ship’s cook, was recovered shortly after the accident Monday.
Fifteen of the 22 people onboard survived.
Waves gently crashed against the rocks of Porticello, a port near the Italian island’s main city, Palermo, with the sea calm as rescuers brought ashore green body bags Wednesday — a stark contrast to just three days ago, when officials believe the yacht was hit by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout.
The vessel was anchored about a half-mile offshore when it sank, leaving divers to search its hull on the seabed 164 feet underwater.
The dock has swarmed for days with journalists, photographers and curious onlookers taking photos with their smartphones as rescue teams traveled to and from the site of the wreck.
Claudio Lavanga reported from Porticello and Yuliya Talmazan from London.
