Mike Lynch yacht sinking live: Tributes pour in for ‘genius’ tycoon as search for daughter Hannah continues

The Italian Coastguard’s working theory is still that the missing woman is inside the boat, spokesman Vincenzo Zagarola has said.

Mike Lynch’s daughter Hannah is the only person yet to be found after six people went missing when the Bayesian superyacht sank.

Christopher Morvillo’s law firm has said it is “heartbroken” at the tragic death of the US lawyer and his wife Neda.

In a statement issued to The Independent on Thursday, a Clifford Chance spokesperson said: “We are heartbroken at the tragic passing of our partner, Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda. We are deeply saddened and still coming to terms with this terrible loss. Our utmost priority is to continue to support Chris’s family at this very distressing time. Our thoughts extend to the families and loved ones of all those affected.

“We wish to express our deepest condolences and our love and support to Chris’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. We also want to thank the Italian authorities and rescue teams for everything they have done.”

A decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is “not on the agenda”, but will be in the future, a spokesman from the Italian Coastguard has said.

Vincenzo Zagarola told PA: “This is not a topic on the agenda. It will be, but not now.”

The search for Mike Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah was called off at around 8pm in Sicily on Thursday.

Divers are expected to begin scouring the wreck of the Bayesian superyacht again at 6.30am on Friday.

A series of “indescribable, unreasonable errors” by the crew led to the shipwreck in which British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and six others died earlier this week, the yacht manufacturer’s CEO told Reuters on Thursday.

The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long (184-foot) superyacht with 22 people aboard – 12 passengers and 10 crew – capsized and sank on Monday within minutes of being hit by a pre-dawn storm while anchored off the coast of northern Sicily.

“The boat suffered a series of indescribable, unreasonable errors, the impossible happened on that boat … but it went down because it took on water. From where, the investigators will tell,” Giovanni Costantino said in an interview.

Costantino helms The Italian Sea Group, which includes Perini Navi, the Italian high-end yacht maker that built the Bayesian in 2008. The vessel has been refitted twice, last in 2020, but not by Perini.

The CEO ruled out any design or construction errors, which he called unlikely after 16 years of trouble-free navigation, including in more severe weather than on Monday.

He blamed the Bayesian’s crew for the “incredible mistake” of not being prepared for the storm, which had been announced in shipping forecasts. “This is the mistake that cries out for vengeance,” he said.

Costantino said passengers should have been summoned out of their cabins and assembled at a point of safety while the boat was being prepared for the storm by pulling up the anchor, closing doors and hatches, lowering the keel to increase stability and other measures.

Six out of 12 passengers died in the shipwreck, and five bodies were found inside the wreck. Emergency services are still trying to locate the body of the last missing person, Lynch’s daughter Hannah.

Had correct procedures been followed, all passengers would have gone back to sleep after one hour “and the next morning they would have happily resumed their wonderful cruise,” Costantino said.

Another yacht anchored near the Bayesian escaped unharmed. The captain of the sunken yacht and other crew members have not commented publicly on the disaster, while Italian prosecutors investigating it are due to hold a press conference on Saturday.

Mike Lynch has been described as a “truly extraordinary, intellectual, inventive, humorous and generous man” by a colleague.

Martina King, chief executive of Featurespace, a fraud prevention company, said: “It is a high statistical probability that Featurespace wouldn’t be a thriving technology company without Mike.

“Our co-founders, Professor Bill Fitzgerald and Dave Excell, were inspired by Mike’s combination of intellect and commercial acumen. They benefited from his friendship and guidance.

“Mike’s personal investment in Featurespace supported the development of an invention that has proved fundamental in the progress of AI and he served as a Non-Executive Director for over 10 years from 2008 – 2019.

“Mike was a true champion of the UK technology sector, including the need for greater diversity and advocated for many female leaders, including me.

“Cambridge, the technology sector, colleagues and friends will be unable to calculate the loss of this truly extraordinary, intellectual, inventive, humorous and generous man. He will be sorely and deeply missed.”

The family of Christopher and Neda Morvillo have paid tribute to the “devoted, loving” parents after their deaths in the Bayesian superyacht tragedy were confirmed.

In a statement issued to Sky News, they said: “We are completely devastated by the passing of Chris and Neda, and our collective hearts go out to all the families who have also been affected by this senseless tragedy.

“Chris and Neda were each widely respected for their professional successes, Chris as a distinguished attorney and Neda as a skilled jewellery designer, but their true talents were that of mother and father, son and daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt and dear friends to so many.

“Neda and Chris lived their lives as devoted, loving parents who always put their daughters and families first. Their passing is a tremendous loss for our family and for the countless people who knew and loved them both.

“We extend our deepest gratitude to the Italian rescue services for their unwavering dedication and to Clifford Chance for all the support they have provided.

“As we grieve this enormous loss, our primary focus remains on Chris and Neda’s daughters and other loved ones, and we respectfully request privacy.”

A friend and mentee of Mike Lynch has said he was “unfailingly supportive” and “fiercely loyal”, as well as a “loving and much-loved” father and husband.

Suranga Chandratillake, partner at Balderton, a venture capital firm in London, said: “Mike Lynch’s PhD at Cambridge put him at the very forefront of modern artificial intelligence.

“More than just technology, however, Mike contributed vastly to its commercialisation. Mike didn’t just invent things, he built products and companies.

“By my count, he founded over 10 technology companies and was instrumental in the building of three that became multi-billion dollar public companies (Autonomy, blinkx and DarkTrace) – a personal track record without equal in the UK’s technology ecosystem.

“I worked for Mike for five years and he then served on my board at blinkx for close to a decade.

“I can share that he was an unfailingly supportive mentor who challenged and supported in equal measure.

“Years before Covid, he mastered hybrid work, splitting his time between Cambridge (where the tech was built), London (where it was sold) and Suffolk (which he loved dearly), and juggled leading his work with being a loving and much-loved dad and husband.

“He was famously fiercely competitive but, to his friends, equally fiercely loyal and always ready for a cup of tea and a chat.

“The loss to the UK’s technology ecosystem is incalculable but I am as sad to lose an old friend and all my thoughts are with his wonderful family who are facing an unthinkable double tragedy at this time.”

The company Darktrace, in which Mike Lynch was a founding investor, has described the British entrepreneur as “an active champion of the UK’s technology sector”.

In a statement issued to The Independent, a spokesperson said: “We are shocked and saddened by the news confirming the death of Mike Lynch and the other victims of this terrible tragedy.

“Mike was a founding investor in Darktrace, an active champion of the UK’s technology sector, and a committed husband and father. His loss will be felt by many.

“Our thoughts are with his family and all the families who have lost loved ones in this awful event.”