On August 19, 2024, at around 5 a.m. local time, a tornado struck a 56-meter Bayesian yacht, flying a British flag, causing it to sink. There were 22 people onboard.

Despite a rescue operation that saved 15 people, including a mother and her baby, seven others remained unaccounted for. Among the missing were British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah Lynch.

?BREAKING: The first picture of Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah has been released by their family after her body was recovered from the superyacht Bayesian.https://t.co/A6EM3GIvN3 pic.twitter.com/SbOACPp6Rt

— Connor Stringer (@connor_stringer) August 23, 2024

It was revealed that among those still missing were Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, his wife, Judy Bloomer, and New York lawyer Chris Morvillo, along with his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Police divers made attempts to reach the yacht’s hull, which rested at a depth of 50 meters, but early inspections were hindered by limited access to the bridge and furniture blocking passages.

The operation was described as “complex,” with divers limited to underwater shifts of only 12 minutes. Meanwhile, tributes began to pour in for Recaldo Thomas, with his friend Gareth Williams remembering him as a “well-loved, kind human being with a calm spirit.”

On August 21, 2024, reports revealed new developments in the search efforts. Search teams discovered four bodies in the wreckage of the superyacht. Among the recovered bodies, two were identified as billionaire Mike and his daughter, Hannah.

In addition to these tragic finds, a fifth body was also located within the wreckage of the Bayesian, leaving one person still missing.

The Chief of Civil Protection confirmed that the identities of the other two recovered bodies were yet to be determined, with two men and one woman at the morgue awaiting formal identification.

Vincenzo Zagarola of the Italian Coastguard described the search for Hannah as neither “easy or quick,” likening the sunken yacht to an “18-story building full of water.”

Later in the morning, the coastguard confirmed that her body had been found. A green body bag was subsequently brought to the port of Porticello from the site of the wreck.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Lynch family announced that they were “devastated” and “in shock” following the tragic deaths of the father and daughter. Hannah’s sister, Esme, also paid tribute, referring to Hannah as her “little angel.”

Several witnesses have provided accounts of what happened before the incident. According to a statement from Italy’s coast guard, the 184-foot sailboat sank “due to a violent storm” off the coast of Palermo.

Additionally, Karsten Borner, the captain of a nearby boat, disclosed that when the winds intensified, he quickly turned on his engine to maintain control of his vessel and prevent a collision with the Bayesian, which had been anchored next to him.

“We managed to keep the ship in position and after the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone,” Borner revealed adding that the other boat “went flat on the water, and then down.”

Borner mentioned that his crew later discovered some of the survivors on a life raft, including a baby girl and her mother. They brought the survivors on board their vessel before the coast guard arrived to take them to safety.

Survivors also shared their harrowing experiences with one of the doctors who rushed to their aid, revealing that it took only minutes for the 180-foot ship to go down.

Dr. Fabio Genco, head of the Palermo Emergency Medical Services, recalled arriving in the seaside village of Porticello just before dawn, approximately an hour after the $40 million Bayesian sank during the violent and sudden storm.

“They told me that it was all dark, that the yacht hoisted itself up and then went down,” Genco recounted. “All the objects were falling on them. That’s why I immediately made sure, by asking them questions, if they had any internal injuries,” he added.

Genco stated that it seemed the survivors had only minutes to abandon the sinking ship. He added that the survivors mentioned they suddenly found themselves thrown into the water without even realizing how it happened, and that the entire ordeal seemed to have lasted only three to five minutes.