A body believed to be that of Mike Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter has been recovered from the wreckage of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily, meaning all missing passengers have been found.
The incident comes ahead of unconfirmed reports in Italian media that prosecutors are set to announce they are opening an investigation into manslaughter.
The Italian coast guard said on Friday that the sixth and final person missing from the sinking vessel, the Baisian, has been found.
Green body bags were seen being carried from the scene of the wreck to the port of Porticello.
Vincenzo Zagarola of the Italian coast guard said the search for the Hanna had been “neither easy nor quick” and likened the sunken yacht to “an 18-storey building filled with water”.
Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International Bank Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance Bank lawyer Chris Morbillo and his wife Neda Morbillo were all missing when the yacht sank at about 5 a.m. local time on Monday.
“From the start, inspecting the ship was neither easy nor quick,” Zagarola said.
“Imagine an 18-story building filled with water.”
The bodies of all six missing passengers have now been brought to shore in Porticello, a small fishing village about 11 miles from Sicily’s capital, Palermo.
One of Hannah’s former teachers paid tribute to her after her body was recovered from the wreckage, saying: “I will never forget the kindness, compassion and dedication she taught me.”
John Mitropoulos-Monk, head of English at Latimer Upper School in Hammersmith, said: “I have never taught a student with such a high combination of intellectual ability, warmth and enthusiasm as Hannah.”
Friend Katya Lewis also paid tribute to Hannah, saying, “Being with Hannah made me feel fulfilled and happy.”
“She is the most special friend anyone could want and I will always love Hannah.”
Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bakales, escaped to lifeboats and were rescued.
The body of Recardo Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan man who worked as a chef on the superyacht, was recovered from the scene of the wreck on Monday.
The voyage was to celebrate Lynch’s acquittal in a fraud case in the United States.
The businessman, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was released in June after being charged with committing large-scale fraud in connection with the company’s $11 billion (£8.64 billion) sale to Hewlett-Packard.
Mike Lynch’s body has already been recovered from the wreckage (Yui Mok/PA)
Zagarola had previously said the decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed was “not on the table”, but that it would be on the agenda in the future.
Luxury yacht captain James Cutfield is reportedly being questioned by authorities in connection with the sunken yacht.
Giovanni Costantino, chief executive of the company that built the yacht, told The Times it was “absurd” that the yacht’s passengers were in the cabin.
He told the newspaper: “Why were (they) in the cabin?”
“If the local fishermen saw the storm coming, why didn’t anyone on the Baysian see it?”
“At 3:50 a.m., the captain had four minutes to remove the passengers from the cabin.”
He continued: “They should have jettisoned the anchor, started the engines, turned the bow to windward and lowered the keel.”
“If they had done so, there would have been no fear for anyone on board. They would have been back in their beds within the hour, ready to continue their voyage.”
The Italian coastguard said the last body had been found among the wreckage (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Tributes have been paid to those who died in the disaster, with some describing Lynch as a “unique visionary”.
“He had a unique ability to see the next technological revolution and solve tomorrow’s problems before anyone else did,” says Eleanor Lightbody, CEO of Luminance, a legal AI company founded by Lightbody.
“Above all, Mike was a kind person who touched so many lives. He will be dearly missed. I am honored to have known, worked with and learned from him over the years.”
In a statement acknowledging the deaths of their parents, the Bloomer family described the couple as “wonderful people and an inspiration to so many”.
They said: “Our parents were incredible people and an inspiration to so many, but above all else they were family-oriented, loved their families and cherished spending time with their new grandchildren.
“After 50 years together, my only solace is that they’re still together.”
The search included helicopters, remotely operated underwater vehicles, naval forces and cave divers.
The Baysian was anchored about a half mile off the coast of Porticello when a storm hit the area and it sank.
The wreckage of the Bayesian lies on the ocean floor 50 metres (164 feet) deep off the coast.
Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese are scheduled to hold a press conference on Saturday morning.
