Divers recover fifth body from sunken Bayesian superyacht as Mike Lynch & daughter Hannah feared to be among dead

THE FIFTH body found on the sunken Bayesian superyacht has been reportedly recovered off the coast of Sicily with one of the tourists still missing.

Four of the missing six from Monday’s tragic disaster were recovered from the wreck on Wednesday, with divers locating the fifth before calling off the search in the evening.

Italian rescue divers resume their search off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, on Thursday morning

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Italian rescue divers resume their search off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, on Thursday morningCredit: Reuters
Italian diving crew near the dive site on Wednesday - where they recovered four bodies

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Italian diving crew near the dive site on Wednesday – where they recovered four bodiesCredit: PA
The 184ft £14million superyacht in Sicily before it sank on Monday morning

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The 184ft £14million superyacht in Sicily before it sank on Monday morning

A team of divers recovered the fifth person from the boat this morning, the civil protection authority told Sky News.

The sixth missing tourist’s whereabouts are unknown.

Fifteen of the 22 onboard were rescued when the luxury yacht capsized and sank in a storm around 5am on Monday morning.

One was later found dead with six declared missing including Brit billionaire tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18.

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Two of those recovered yesterday were feared to be Mike and Hannah, Sicily’s civil protection chief Salvo Cocina told The Telegraph.

But according to Italian outlet Giornale Di Sicilia, the four bodies recovered yesterday were Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy and Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda.

Italian authorities have yet to officially confirm the identities of any of the bodies.

Canadian-Antiguan yacht chef, Recaldo Thomas, was found in waters near the wreck soon after the disaster on Monday.

The other unaccounted for passengers include Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan and his wife Judy, and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris and his wife Neda.

Sicily civil protection director-general Salvo Cocina told The Telegraph after the bodies were found: “On behalf of myself and my colleagues, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims and express our condolences to them at this difficult time.”


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The ultra-luxurious yacht plunged beneath waves in the early hours of Monday after being hammered by a rare “Black Swan” waterspout – a freak twister-like event.

Lynch’s wife – Angela Bacares, 57 – was one of those who managed to escape in a tiny life raft as the vessel capsized and was dragged down in a storm.

Italian officials have launched an investigation, as have the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch, into how the superyacht sank.

According to witnesses, the 246ft tall mast was battered by a waterspout – a twister-like cloud of air formed by extreme storms – toppling the boat and causing it to capsize.

Maritime experts agreed the yacht may have been sunk by a freak “Black Swan” waterspout which would have appeared without warning.

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.

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 lying “practically intact” on its side at the bottom of the sea, rescuers have been struggling to get inside.

Some 164ft down, the rotating team of divers face a time crunch as they only have 10 minutes to search each time they go down.

Diver Marco Tilotta also said there was a “world of objects” including furniture and debris obstructing the narrow stairs in front of the cabins in the wreck.

Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan chef who was working on the boat, found dead on Monday

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Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan chef who was working on the boat, found dead on Monday
Rescue workers at the site this week

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Rescue workers at the site this week