Search and rescue crews made a grim discovery on the third day of the search for six missing passengers from the luxury Bayesian superyacht, which sank early Monday morning after being caught in a violent storm. Six bodies were found in the underwater wreckage, according to The Guardian, bringing the total recovered since the incident to seven.
Italian authorities reportedly told The Telegraph that two of the bodies are believed to be British billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, although none of the identities of the recovered bodies have been publicly confirmed by authorities.
Those missing or presumed dead aside from Lynch and his daughter include Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy as well as Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda. The chartered trip had been to celebrate Lynch's recent acquittal following a 13-year legal battle over fraud allegations stemming from the $11 billion sale of his software company to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
According to The Independent, two bodies of the recovered were brought to shore earlier on Wednesday, one of which reportedly belonged to a "heavily-built man," while two others have been located within the yacht.
There were 22 people aboard the doomed vessel when it sank, including 12 passengers and 10 crew members. Fifteen people were rescued shortly after the incident, with the body of chef Recaldo Thomas recovered from the site of the wreckage on Monday.
The complex rescue efforts have been hampered by debris obstructing access to the cabins, and so far crews have only been able to access the common areas of the ship. Further complicating the operation, Sicilian fire service divers have been restricted to 12-minute underwater shifts.
Bloomer's brother, Jeremy Bloomer, said that there were hopes that the victims still aboard the yacht might be still alive. "It’s a slow process and it will take time," he explained. "So there might be air pockets, but we don’t know. It’s still wait and see, so fingers crossed."
London-based lawyer Ayla Ronald, 36, a senior associate who was part of the Clifford Chance legal team, was among those rescued along with her partner Matthew Fletcher. Her father, Lin Ronald, told the New Zealand Herald that his daughter was "very shaken" after the incident.
Ronald said that his daughter had only texted him that "there are deaths, and she and her partner are alive," adding that she was also the only one with a charged phone, and had been helping coordinate efforts with medics.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated that two of the bodies had been identified as Mike Lynch and his daughter, Hannah. While Italian authorities reportedly told The Telegraph they believe this to be the case, they have not publicly confirmed the identity of the recovered victims
