The body of tech magnate Mike Lynch, often referred to as the ‘British Bill Gates’, has reportedly been recovered from the wreck of a yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily.
The superyacht, named the Bayesian, went down following a violent storm near Sicily on August 19.
There were 22 people on board, including 12 passengers and 10 crew members. Out of these, 15 were rescued using lifeboats, while several others remain missing.
Initial reports indicated that the missing included technology tycoon Mike Lynch; his 18-year-old daughter Hannah; Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer; his wife Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife Neda Morvillo.
A source close to the rescue operation has now confirmed that Lynch’s body has been retrieved from the wreck, as reported by Reuters.
The body is the fifth to be recovered from the wreckage and was taken to the port of Porticello in a blue body bag just after 8.45am local time on Thursday, August 22.
Divers equipped with torches attached to their headgear had been entering the water at the site of the shipwreck on Wednesday afternoon.
Dr Jamie Pringle, an expert in forensic geoscience, spoke to Sky News, stating there have been cases where individuals have survived in similar depths of water, but these instances are ‘very rare’.
One body recovered on Monday was identified as Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who had been working as a chef on the yacht.
Gareth Williams, a friend of Thomas, told the BBC: “I can talk for everyone that knew him when I say he was a well-loved, kind human being with a calm spirit.”
Vincenzo Zagarola, from the Italian coastguard, also spoke to the media about the status of the missing individuals. He had previously indicated that the missing tourists were feared dead.
He told the PA news agency: “We think they are still inside the boat, that is our very hard idea. Of course, we do not exclude that they are not inside the boat, but we know the boat sank quickly.
“We suppose that the six people missing may not have had time to get out of the boat.”
Mike Lynch, often compared to Bill Gates, recently grabbed headlines due to an ongoing fraud case.
In June, the 59-year-old was acquitted by a US jury of all charges in a high-profile fraud case connected to the sale of his software company.
He was cleared of 15 counts of fraud after Silicon Valley giant Hewlett-Packard acquired his company Autonomy for $11.1 billion in 2011.