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Tributes have been paid to the 18-year-old daughter of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch after her body was recovered from the sunken yacht Bayesian.
Hannah Lynch was brought ashore on Friday following a five-day search operation off the coast of Sicily, which had already retrieved the bodies of five others, including her father.
Unconfirmed reports in the Italian media have now said that prosecutors are set to announce a manslaughter investigation into the incident, which killed seven in total and saw 15 others rescued from a lifeboat.
Tributes have poured in for the “charming and ferociously intelligent” teenager, who had been due to start studying English at Oxford University in September.
She died alongside her father when his boat capsized during stormy weather at around 4am on Monday morning, with the wreckage sitting at a depth of 50m below the surface of the sea.
The trip had been a celebration of Mr Lynch’s acquittal in a decade-long fraud case in the US, and he had invited close friends, colleagues and his legal team onboard to thank them for their support.
Also killed in the incident was Morgan Stanley International chair Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo, and the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas.
In a statement, the family of Mr Lynch and Hannah said: “The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends.
“Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue.
“Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief.”
Hannah’s sister, Esme, said: “Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me. Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice. No matter what, she brought boundless love to me.
“She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me. And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals. She is my little angel, my star.”
Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian Coast Guard, said the search for Hannah was not “easy or quick”, comparing the sunken yacht to an “18-storey building full of water”.
Specialist divers faced complex conditions while searching for the six missing people, with debris and furniture cluttering the narrow spaces leading to the cabin bedrooms.
They only had a 10-minute window per dive to carry out their search, with a helicopter, remotely controlled underwater vehicles and naval units also deployed to assist.
After the discovery of Hannah’s body on Friday morning, coastguard members, police officers and search and rescue teams lined up along Porticello Harbour, before an ambulance transported her to the mortuary in Palermo.
Among those paying tribute was her former head of English at Latymer Upper School, who described her as achieving success with “extraordinary levels of grace and fortitude”.
Jon Mitropoulos-Monk said: “I’ve never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did. She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence (though never with a hint of arrogance).”
Tributes from across all sectors have been paid to Mr Lynch, who founded the software giant Autonomy in 1996 and sat on the board of a number of prestigious institutions.
His close friend and colleague Andrew Kanter said: “Mike was the most brilliant mind and caring person I have ever known. Over nearly a quarter century I had the privilege of working beside someone unrivalled in their understanding of technology and business.
“There is simply no other UK technology entrepreneur of our generation who has had such an impact on so many people.”
In a statement confirming their parents’ deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as “incredible people and an inspiration to many”.
An investigation is now due to look at the circumstances in which the boat sank, with the yacht’s captain, James Cutfield, reportedly questioned for two hours by authorities.
Mr Zagarola has said a decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is “not on the agenda” but will be in the future.
The CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns the firm that built the Bayesian, said that the yacht was “unsinkable” and that the vessels are “the safest in the most absolute sense”.
Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese are scheduled to hold a press conference on Saturday morning.
