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LAST UPDATE | 21 Aug 2024
FIVE BODIES HAVE been found in the wreck of a luxury yacht that sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily.
Four bodies, which have yet to be identified, have been recovered and the head of Sicily’s civil protection agency Salvatore Cocina said efforts to bring a fifth to shore are “ongoing”.
It brings the confirmed death toll from the disaster off the Italian island to six, after the body of a man believed to be the yacht’s chef was recovered hours after the sinking on Monday.
Among those also missing are Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer; his wife, Judy Bloomer; lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.
Inspections of the craft’s internal hull took place on Wednesday morning.
A team of four British inspectors from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) have arrived in Porticello, where they are expected to look at the site of the sinking.
The MAIB is looking into what happened because the yacht Bayesian was flying a British flag, it is understood.
The Italian Coastguard said the MAIB is not involved in the search for the missing people and that it has not been requested to assist.
Jeremy Bloomer, Jonathan Bloomer’s twin brother, previously told the BBC: “It’s a slow process and it will take time. So there might be air pockets, but we don’t know. It’s still wait and see, so fingers crossed”.
The body recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday was that of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working on the Bayesian superyacht, the Italian Coastguard told Sky News.
Gareth Williams, a friend of the chef, 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.”
Another friend, Eli Fuller, told the outlet Thomas was “friends with everybody”, “always positive” and “sought after” in his profession.
Bayesian was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank at around 5am local time on Monday as the area was hit by a storm.
Vincenzo Zagarola of the Italian Coastguard said the six missing tourists were feared dead.
Asked about the likelihood of them being alive, he said: “Never say never, but reasonably the answer should be not.”
“We think they are still inside the boat, that is our very hard idea. Our search and rescue activity by sea and air has gone on for around 36 hours.
“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.
Italy’s fire brigade Vigili del Fuoco described the operation as “complex”, with divers limited to 12-minute underwater shifts.
Dr Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a senior lecturer of mechanical, biomedical and design engineering at Aston University, said that the speed at which the vessel sank (a few minutes, according to survivor and witness accounts) and the fact that it remains intact and on its side “could favour the formation of small air pockets inside”.
“This is obviously highly speculative and impossible to predict accurately,” he added.
A sign the rescuers may be looking for is a banging noise at regular intervals.
“This is common practice on submarines and was one of the signs the search mission for the Titan submarine was looking for after it went missing last year.
“But whether air pockets formed on the Bayesian is simply impossible to predict.”
Of the 22 passengers and crew onboard, 15 – including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares – were rescued after escaping onto a lifeboat.
The Mirror reported Bacares is in a “state of shock and sadness” as she awaits news of her husband. She has reportedly been joined by the couple’s elder daughter who was not aboard the boat.
More of the yacht’s rescued crew members were named by the Italian Coastguard on Tuesday, with Leo Eppel and South African nationals Leah Randall and Katja Chicken all confirmed as having been on board.
Survivors are recuperating at a hotel complex in Porticello where authorities are gathering witness statements.
The Telegraph reported authorities are investigating whether hatches left open by crew members contributed to the sinking, as well as what onboard measures were taken in preparation for the storm.
The ship’s captain James Calfield, 51 told Italian media: “We didn’t see it coming”.
Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of conducting a massive fraud relating to the $11 billion (€9.8 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.
The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal.
The Financial Times reported that Mr Bloomer appeared at trial as a defence witness for Lynch, while media reports suggest the pair are close friends.
A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley said the bank was “shocked and saddened” while Clifford Chance said it was a “tragic incident”.
David Tabizel, Lynch’s Autonomy co-founder, told Sky News: “I’m just heartbroken for him and his family and I hope there’s a miracle about to occur.
If anyone has the resilience to survive this – he does. And I hope he’s found an air pocket.
Tabizel added: “He has been one of the most influential, intelligent and most honourable human beings I have ever had the honour of knowing.”
The former school of Lynch’s daughter has said its “thoughts are with their family and everyone involved”.
A spokesperson for Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, said: “We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates.”
Ed Llewellyn, British ambassador to Italy, met some of the survivors of the sinking at a hotel.
Ayla Ronald, a New Zealand national working at Clifford Chance, survived the ordeal.
Her father Lin Ronald confirmed to the Telegraph she had been invited aboard as a thanks for assistance in Lynch’s recent court case.
Another of the survivors, British tourist Charlotte Emsley, told la Repubblica she held her one-year-old daughter, Sofia, to stop her from drowning.
Charlotte and Sofia were treated in hospital, as was Sofia’s father, James Emsley.
In a separate incident, Lynch’s co-defendant in his US fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, died after being hit by a car while out running in Cambridgeshire on Saturday.
In a statement released through Cambridgeshire Police, Mr Chamberlain’s family said: “Steve was a much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend.
“He was an amazing individual whose only goal in life was to help others in any way possible.”
With reporting by AFP
What about if they worked a bit harder, less holidays, longer hours? Just like the rest of us
@Paddy: Our constitution says we need one for every 20/30000 citizens
@Tom: we should have a referendum to change the number of TD’s in The Dail. There are far too many already and with the increase there’ll be another 14 freeloaders ie. teachers, publicans & landlords!
@Tom: Change the constitution far too many TDS already
@DJ D: How many of those categories are TDs?
@Tom: We need to change the constitution to allow a lower ratio of TD’s per person as we have too many as it is. One TD per 50k people is more than sufficient
@Tom: can u tell us what size of classrooms should teachers teach???
@Paddy: that’s asking a lot now,you obviously didn’t see the effect that had when Eamon Ryan do a few extra hours
@Tom: so change it to 50,000
Maybe that’s a decision for their employers, IE,the taxpayers
@Brian molloy: The same when it comes to wage increases
@Brian molloy: Changing the ratio would be a change in the constitution which needs a referendum.
@Keith Tobin:
TDs haven’t been able to set their own salary for more than a decade, it’s linked to public sector pay.
“Something has to give” of course something will give, our young people will have to emigrate in there thousands again soon enough……crisis averted
@Tom: exactly
@Tom: they don’t care. Any amount of people will come from less well off countries will come for a wage. TDs could care less if everyone under 25 left. It’s not about building society its about milking what’s there dry.
@Tom:
CSO figure say that more Irish people are returning than are leaving
Increase Garda numbers , nurses, Doctors ,,,,TD should stand for Total Disgrace.
Let’s be honest TDs don’t run this country Civil Servants do. This country needs more doctors, nurses, teachers, prisons, Gardai, carers, and son on. The last thing this country needs right now is more TDs.
More money down the drain and more waffle sickening
Maybe stop our population from increasing with illegal immigrants and look after our own – just a thought that would never occur to our supposed representatives.
@Thomas Sheridan:
We need more immigration, who do you think is going to build the housing we need?
@P.J. Nolan: Not many of the recently arrived immigrants, I suspect. Certainly far less than the number of them looking for state accommodation.
@P.J. Nolan: Not too many Ukrainians building house for us, even though they have work visas. Only ones working are working at night. Great addition to the country.
Who decides on these constraints figures 1td/30000 .Sure only half of the people vote most of the time anyway so its nearer 1td/15000.No other country would put up that kind of largesse.
@Willie Marty: The ratio is set out in the constitution.
@Gareth: needs changing to bring it into line with our European partners
We have enough TDs don’t need any more spongen of the taxpayers
The same with the number or Gardai, Nurses, Teachers, Doctors, Army personnel, hospital beds etc etc etc!!
Taking what the commission said into account, the amount if tds will increase. But here lies the problem, county borders. What we have now is a Dublin, Cork, Galway and now limerick tearing away from the rest of the country with jobs, investment, housing, road, and just about everything else. Rural problems are not being tackled, hence mass amount of young people moving to the big 4 cities. Where the government said they were going to tackled this ,the opposite has happened. Maggie Thatcher politics or should I say Tory politics being employed by FF and FG won’t mention greens as they are clueless. Its stands out.
@james hennessy: rural Ireland is over populated, no point in throwing good money after bad.
@james hennessy: Could you please explain a bit more the “Rural problems are not being tackled” part?
I live in the city and honestly want to hear it.
@james hennessy: ‘Big Cities’ ? – there is still a boreen between Cork/Limerick/Waterford – The further from the pale is the further from investment.
There’s more pressing things needed than TDs. More housing is needed. More doctors and nurses. Even more hospitals are needed. Sligo university hosp has to cover a massive area that is far too vast for one hospital. Government need to cop themselves on. Enough is enough now.
@Helen O REGAN: This is the Constitution, not the Government.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: time to change it so more important things than fat cats yaping in the dail and little or nothing being done they’ve had over TEN years with an overwhelming massive housing crisis, not good enough they’re supposed to be making decisions thinking and planning long term solutions it’s getting worse and has been for too long kicking the can down the road with lame excuses and passing blame they were put into power to run the country not line they’re pockets with massive salaries and expenses which they are there no denying that
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: it would appear the constitution is in need of drastic change as tds are surplus to requirements, not fit for purpose and a complete drain on society. However I’m interested in hearing one benefit a td is to the public, the tax paid & paying public that is.
Good excuse to raise tax to pay their wages
No more School Teacher’s, Doctors, Tree Huggers or Anyone taking the verbally P Should be Allowed to Stand. WE See How this Doesn’t Work for The People!!!
@Mick Hanna: Don’t vote for them, but banning people from standing in election is the compleye antithesis of democracy.
Like it or not, this is democracy. The alternative isn’t worth thinking about. Although there are some gombeens on here who seem to think democracy is a joke and something to throw away. Probably don’t even vote because they’ll put the X in the wrong place.
Personally, I think change the Constitution. In fact, every hundred years they should change it to reflect society.
1 TD for every 20/30,000 citizens is too low. Why not increase it to 40k given the ongoing increase in population.
Increased population because of all our friend who are shipped in
Just replace TD’s whith chatGPT. Or if we need an increase in TD’s reduce their wages and expenses inline.
Up here for thinking
So obviously they are not up to the job. Sorry but we knew that already.
One wonders how the likes of Jim O Callaghan TD and Barrister manages to be in the dail, and also be a successful barrister down the four courts?
TDs can’t be doing much if that’s the case.
I’ve e mailed his secretary a few times to ask, but never got an answer.
the number of tax lines on our payslips needs review as we can’t keep pace with the crazy accelerated cost of living.
If they done a bit of work they would have a better chance of keeping pace sack all of them
Is it right to say the UK has 104k / MP(650 mps)?
If ireland had those numbers, then ireland would need 2256 TDs per the constitution. So what should we change?
@Padhraig Farrell: Really? 100k per TD = 10 TD’s per million population.
That would mean -51- TD’s by the current 5,056,935, correct?
They need to get their fingers out of their preverbal and do some work! No more swine in the trough ! We don’t get enough return on investment!
Why dont some of the clever clogs on here with a the answers tun for election, plenty seats to contest, even new constituencies. But of course that would actually mean doing something Instead of being angry behind a keyboard and criticize everything and everybody, which is easy
have your say