The sinking of a luxury yacht owned by British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch off the coast of Sicily earlier this week has unfolded into a greater tragedy.
Italian authorities have confirmed Lynch as one of five bodies recovered from the wreckage Thursday morning, according to the Wall Street Journal. Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, who were also aboard, have also been confirmed dead by their children in a statement, reported Bloomberg.
Bloomer's daughter, Hannah, remained unaccounted for as of early Thursday afternoon.
Bloomer, 70, had sat as chair of Morgan Stanley’s European business since 2018, and was last year named to lead the board at British insurer Hiscox.
In a statement, Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick, who officially inherited the role from James Gorman on January 1, praised his “leadership and experience [which] helped the firm manage a period of complex change for our international businesses.”
Bloomer’s multi-decade career included a 20-year tenure as partner at Arthur Andersen, several senior roles a Prudential from 1995 to 2005, and six years as operating partner at private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.
The Bayesian, Lynch’s superyacht, went down near Porticello early Monday morning as it was caught in a tornado.
According to reports, Lynch, 59, had been celebrating with close family and friends after his recent acquittal on fraud charges related to the sale of his software company, Autonomy Corp., to Hewlett Packard Co. in 2011.
Despite the best efforts of authorities, rescue operations only managed to save 15 of the 22 people onboard.
Italian officials have been working alongside the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch to determine what caused the vessel to sink so rapidly. The yacht, submerged about 48 meters below the surface, has posed challenges for divers due to its narrow spaces and the debris inside the hull.
“We can also say that, so far, there is no evidence that the hull has been broken. But we don’t have a clear idea yet of the full damage,” Coast guard spokesperson Vincenzo Zagarola told Bloomberg.
Rescue teams, supported by military ships, helicopters, and remote-controlled underwater vehicles, continue to survey the wreckage.
The investigation is focusing not only on the condition of the yacht’s hull but also on the impact of the storm. The captain and other survivors have been questioned by local prosecutors as authorities attempt to piece together how the luxury vessel could have sunk so suddenly.
The body of the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, was found shortly after the incident, marking the first recovery.
“The search will go on as long as necessary,” Zagarola noted, emphasizing that every section of the hull would be thoroughly inspected.
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