Italia

• Authorities are investigating the causes of the accident that left six dead off the coast of Sicily

Italian authorities recovered a fifth body from inside the ship on August 22. sunken Bayesian sailboat off the coast of Sicily, Italy, and are trying to find the last of the six people missing in the accident.

The divers of the local fire brigade pulled the body of the fifth of the six missing from the water and took it to the port of Porticello, according to information confirmed to the EFE news agency.

According to the information, this victim was found inside the remains of the boat, which lies 50 metres deep on the Sicilian seabed.

On August 21, the bodies of four other missing persons were recovered, but the Italian authorities have not yet released their identity.

The victims of the accident are British IT magnate Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah; Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy; and businessman lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda.

Identification of tycoon Mike Lynch

According to local media reports, Mike Lynch’s body was identified on August 22 among five bodies recovered.

The body of the businessman, who was listed as missing, was removed from the sailboat that sank at a depth of 50 metres.

The man was later taken ashore for autopsy and identification, although authorities have not revealed any details.

Lynch, 59, studied Physics, Mathematics and Biochemistry at Cambridge University; he launched several companies software recognition and founded the technology company Autonomy in 1996, which is why he is often nicknamed the ‘British Bill Gates’.

In 2011, he sold his company to computer giant Hewlett Packard (HP) for $11 billion, generating profits of $800 million and a legal dispute lasting more than 13 years, from which he was acquitted in June.

HP said it had found “serious accounting irregularities” at Autonomy and accused Lynch of 17 charges – later reduced to 15 – including fraud and conspiracy.

If convicted, Lynch faced up to 25 years in prison in the United States. He spent more than a year under house arrest in San Francisco awaiting trial, after being extradited from the United Kingdom in May 2023.

Yacht Incident

The British-flagged yacht Bayesian sank on the night of August 19 off the coast of Porticello in the midst of a strong storm, with 22 people on board: 12 passengers and 10 crew members.

Following the rescue of 15 people alive and the discovery of the first body, belonging to the ship’s cook Recalde Thomas, the death toll was now six.

The search and recovery process has been hampered by the depth and position in which the yacht was found, but also by the limited autonomy of the divers who have had to rely on an underwater robot.

The Termini-Imerese prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation to clarify the tragedy and has questioned the captain of the sailboat, James Catfield, 51 years old and one of the survivors, for more than two hours in a hotel in the area.

With information from EFE

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