Summary

  • The body of a man recovered near the Bayesian yacht is believed to be that of Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan chef who was working on the boat

  • Six people are still missing after British luxury yacht sank off Sicily on Monday

  • They include Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy, British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, and jewellery designer Neda Morvillo

  • Divers are struggling to reach the cabins of the yacht, with a "world of objects" blocking access to the rooms

  • Of the 22 people on board, 15 survived, six are missing, and one body, believed to be Recaldo Thomas, has been found

  1. Cambridgeshire Police appeal for witnesses to Chamberlain deathpublished at 10:17 British Summer Time 20 August

    Stephen Chamberlain wearing a red coat and bobble hatImage source, Cambridgeshire Police
    Image caption,

    The force supplied an undated handout photo of Stephen Chamberlain alongside the statement

    Alongside the statement from Stephen Chamberlain's family, Cambridgeshire police has issued an appeal for witnesses to the incident.

    Chamberlain, who was Mike Lynch's co-defendant in a recent major legal case, was killed on Saturday after being hit by a blue Vauxhall Corsa while out for a run.

    Police say the incident occurred on the A1123 Newmarket Road between Stretham and Wicken at around 10:10 BST.

    Chamberlain was taken to hospital with serious injuries, and the driver of the blue Vauxhall Corsa - a 49-year-old woman from Haddenham - is assisting police.

    Anyone with information or dashcam footage of the collision, or the moments before or after, should contact the force, it says.

  2. Family of Stephen Chamberlain pay tribute to 'amazing individual'published at 09:58 British Summer Time 20 August
    Breaking

    Stephen ChamberlainImage source, Linkedin

    The family of Stephen Chamberlain, who was not on the yacht but was the co-defendant in the US trial of Mike Lynch, have described him as "a much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend".

    Chamberlain, 52, was killed at the weekend after being hit by a car while out running in Cambridgeshire.

    "Steve was a much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend," the family says in a statement released through Cambridgeshire Police.

    "He was an amazing individual whose only goal in life was to help others in any way possible. He made a lasting impression on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. He will be deeply missed but forever in the hearts of his loved ones."

  3. Morgan Stanley: 'We are deeply shocked and saddened'published at 09:46 British Summer Time 20 August
    Breaking

    We've just had a statement from Morgan Stanley, whose chairman Jonathan Bloomer is still missing this morning.

    “We are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragedy," a spokesperson for Morgan Stanley says.

    "Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular the Bloomer family, as we all wait for further news from this terrible situation."

  4. Search and rescue continues in Sicilypublished at 09:41 British Summer Time 20 August

    As our correspondent Mark Lowen reported earlier, the search in Sicily resumed just after 06:30 local time.

    The Bayesian yacht is on the seabed, 50 metres underwater. Last night the fire service said divers couldn't access the cabins due to furniture blocking passageways.

    Six men stand on a small orange boat on the waterImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Search and rescue teams are on the water once again this morning

    Sheltered behind a constructed rock wall on the water, tents are erected and ambulances and boats gatherImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    An operational hub has been set up by the break wall

    A vigili del fouco ship on the waterImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    The Italian fire department has supplied the specialist divers tasked with gaining access to the submerged wreck

  5. Six missing and one body recovered after yacht sinkingpublished at 09:22 British Summer Time 20 August

    Italian emergency services prepare to head out to seaImage source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Italian emergency services prepare to head out to sea as the search continues

    Details of the 22 people onboard the Bayesian, and what happened to them after it sank, are still emerging this morning.

    As we continue to investigate, here's what we have confirmed so far.

    A man's body has been recovered. While he has not been formally identified, the coastguard said he was the ship's cook. He's been named in reports both as Ricardo Thomas and Recaldo Thomas.

    There are a six people reported missing. So far, we know the names of five:

    • British technology tycoon Mike Lynch
    • Lynch's 18-year-old daughter Hannah
    • Jonathan Bloomer, Morgan Stanley Bank International chairman
    • Judy Bloomer, Bloomer's wife
    • Chris Morvillo, Clifford Chance lawyer

    Meanwhile, 15 people have been rescued. Among them are:

    • Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares
    • Charlotte Golunski, her husband James and their one-year-old daughter
    • Ayla Ronald, a New Zealand national working at Clifford Chance and her partner
  6. Jonathan Bloomer's wife among missing, company sayspublished at 09:13 British Summer Time 20 August
    Breaking

    We've just seen a statement from insurer Hiscox, the UK-based insurance company chaired by Jonathan Bloomer.

    Its CEO confirms that Bloomer and his wife Judy are among those still missing this morning.

    "We are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event," Aki Hussain says.

    "Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular our chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing, and with their family as they await further news from this terrible situation."

    Jonathan Bloomer is also the chairman of Morgan Stanley Bank International.

  7. Search resumes in Sicily after more bad weatherpublished at 09:07 British Summer Time 20 August

    Mark Lowen
    Reporting from Porticello, Sicily

    Here in Porticello, close to where the Bayesian capsized, emergency teams resumed their work shortly after dawn at 6.30am.

    Divers are attempting to reach the wreckage of the yacht, which lies some 50 metres underwater on the seabed.

    Initial attempts to access it were hampered by the ship’s furniture blocking access. It’s feared that the bodies of the missing could be found inside.

    There has been more rain and wind overnight after the heavy storms that prompted the tragedy. Local meteorologists say a weather alert had been in place for some four days before the disaster, after searing heat had raised the temperature of the Mediterranean to 30C, higher than normal.

    That had amplified the risk of an extreme weather event, which is what appears to have happened, as the waterspout consumed the Bayesian. It smashed the mast and engulfed the yacht within minutes.

    Search boatImage source, Reuters
  8. The latest on the Sicily yacht disasterpublished at 08:56 British Summer Time 20 August

    Image taken of the Bayesian yacht off Positano, Italy last yearImage source, Jeroen Nijpels
    Image caption,

    Image taken of the Bayesian yacht off Positano, Italy, last year

    As rescue operations continue off the Sicily coast, following the sinking of the Bayesian yacht, here's everything we know so far:

    • Six passengers are missing, including tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, 18, and Morgan Stanley boss Jonathan Bloomer
    • A man's body has been recovered. The coastguard said he was the ship's cook. He's been named in reports both as Ricardo Thomas and Recaldo Thomas
    • The father of one of the 15 people rescued says his daughter had been invited onto the yacht following Mike Lynch's victory in the courts
    • Last night, the Italian fire department said divers had been unable to get inside the wreck of the yacht due to furniture obstructing the passage inside
    • There were 22 people onboard when the yacht sank in bad weather in the early hours of Monday
  9. Who was the man whose body was recovered?published at 08:43 British Summer Time 20 August

    Soon after the Bayesian yacht sank off Sicily yesterday, a man's body was recovered from the sea.

    He has not been formally identified, but the Palermo coastguard identified him on Monday evening as the ship's cook.

    Reports have named him as Ricardo Thomas, and others as Recaldo Thomas. We will bring you more details when we have them.

    As a reminder, there were 22 people - 10 crew members and 12 passengers - on board when the yacht sank in the early hours of Monday.

    One body has been recovered, six people are missing, and 15 - including Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares - were rescued. Eight of those were taken to hospital.

  10. How the British newspapers are reporting this storypublished at 08:36 British Summer Time 20 August

    The front page of the Metro, which headlines: Tycoon missing in yacht horror, and the Mirror, which headlines: Hero mum saves baby in sea hell

    Tuesday's front pages are dominated by the news that British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter are among the six people missing today.

    The Metro has the headline "Tycoon missing in yacht horror", while the Daily Mirror leads with the story of Charlotte Golunski, a British mother who saved her baby's life as the yacht sank in the storm.

    The Daily Telegraph reports that Lynch is "feared dead" and that the trip was to celebrate the end of a legal battle, while the Financial Times calls Lynch a "vindicated tech baron" after his acquittal in June.

  11. Map showing last location of yachtpublished at 08:14 British Summer Time 20 August

    The Bayesian yacht sank near the port of Porticello, just east of Sicily's capital, Palermo.

    It was anchored 700m (2,296ft) from the port before the storm hit, according to its travel history on MarineTraffic.

    Yesterday, the Italian fire department said the wreck of the yacht had sunk 50m (164 ft).

    A map showing the yacht's last known location off Sicily
  12. A 'catastrophic incident that happened very quickly' - expertpublished at 07:55 British Summer Time 20 August

    Over now to BBC Radio 4's Today programme to hear from Matthew Schanck, chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council.

    He says the sinking of the yacht is concerning given it's a "very advanced, modern, commercial vessel".

    Asked whether the weather conditions could have been predicted, Schank says waterspouts - rotating columns of air - are incredibly rare and the crew can do little to prepare for them.

    Witnesses say the 15 people who were rescued by life rafts had entered them from the water, instead of from the boat, which Schanck says indicates the emergency happened very quickly.

    One of the captains from the anchorage says he "saw the vessel one minute, and the next minute it was gone - and then all he saw was the red flare," Schanck says.

  13. The Bayesian sinking, in the words of survivorspublished at 07:49 British Summer Time 20 August

    Charlotte Golunski smilesImage source, Facebook
    Image caption,

    Charlotte Golunski says she briefly lost her baby in the churning sea

    The Bayesian was moored off Porticello, east of Palermo, when violent winds and rains suddenly swept up the coast, sinking the luxury vessel.

    Charlotte Golunski described being woken by thunder and lightening that felt like "the end of the world" before being thrown into the water, holding her one-year-old baby above the waves.

    “For two seconds I lost my daughter in the sea then quickly hugged her amid the fury of the waves,” she told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

    "I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning ... It was all dark. In the water I couldn't keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others."

    Nearby, the captain of a Dutch-flagged vessel used the engine to keep his boat upright, but said after the storm passed, his crew noticed the yacht that had been behind them had disappeared.

    "We saw a red flare, so my first mate and I went to the position, and we found this life raft drifting," Captain Karsten Borner told Reuters.

    That life raft was carrying 15 survivors, three of whom were "heavily injured", he said.

  14. Rescue operations continue off Sicily coastpublished at 07:39 British Summer Time 20 August

    We've just received more images of an Italian coastguard vessel in the sea off the coast of Porticello, as the search for the missing people continues.

    Camera crews have also been pictured watching on as they report from the shore.

    We're yet to hear from authorities on their progress, but will update you as soon as we can.

    A fishing boat sails past a coast guard vessel operating in the sea to search for the missingImage source, Reuters
    Members of the media report from near the scene where a luxury yacht sankImage source, Reuters
  15. Lynch's co-defendant Stephen Chamberlain died at the weekendpublished at 07:20 British Summer Time 20 August

    Stephen ChamberlainImage source, Linkedin

    Missing businessman Mike Lynch had been embroiled in an legal battle in the US for more than a decade until he was acquitted in June on multiple fraud charges.

    It has been reported that people involved in his defence had been invited onto the Sicily yacht.

    His co-defendant in that case, Stephen Chamberlain, died on Saturday after being hit by a car while out for a run in Cambridgeshire.

    Chamberlain was the former vice president of finance at Autonomy, the software firm Lynch co-founded.

    The accusations against the pair related to the sale of Autonomy to American computing giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011 for $11bn (£8.6bn).

  16. Lawyers had been invited by Lynch to go sailingpublished at 07:08 British Summer Time 20 August

    The father of one of the survivors says his daughter had been invited onto the yacht following Lynch's acquittal in his legal case.

    Ayla Ronald is a New Zealand national who had been working on the case at the Clifford Chance legal firm, where missing passenger Chris Morvillo is a partner.

    "Ayla is a lawyer who is part of the legal team that were invited to go sailing as a result of the success in the recent United States court case," her father, Lin Ronald, told the Telegraph, external.

    He said she had texted him to say that she and her partner were alive, without elaborating.

    Lynch had been facing fraud allegations with potential jail time over the sale of his company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard, but was acquitted in the US in June.

  17. Coastguard out on the water this morningpublished at 06:59 British Summer Time 20 August

    Two coast guard ships out on the water in early morning lightImage source, Reuters

    The Italian coastguard was pictured out on the water just after 07:00 local time (06:00 BST) this morning.

    Search efforts for the six missing people are continuing, but we are yet to hear from authorities.

    As we've been reporting, divers resurfaced last night unsuccessful in their attempts to get inside the wreckage as furniture blocked the way.

  18. Furniture obstructs wreckage searchpublished at 06:56 British Summer Time 20 August

    We are yet to hear from Italian authorities about the search for the six missing people resuming this morning, however late last night, the Italian fire department issued an update, external.

    It said that divers had been unable to get inside the wreck of the yacht that has sunk 50m (164 ft) deep due to furniture obstructing the passage inside.

    The fire service, Vigili del Fuoco, has been supplying the divers in the search operation, supported by the coastguard's air and naval resources.

  19. Who is Chris Morvillo?published at 06:51 British Summer Time 20 August

    Nada Morvillo and Chris Morvillo pictured in New York in 2018Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Chris Morvillo pictured with his wife Nada in New York in 2018

    Lawyer Chris Morvillo has also been identified among the missing.

    Morvillo has worked on high profile corruption cases, including the recent acquittal of UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch - who is also missing.

    Several reports suggest the yacht trip was a celebration of the acquittal.

    As an assistant US attorney for the southern district of New York from 1999 to 2005, Morvillo worked on the criminal investigation surrounding the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

    Since 2011, he has been a partner at the Clifford Chance law firm in New York.

  20. Who is Jonathan Bloomer?published at 06:48 British Summer Time 20 August

    Jonathan BloomerImage source, Linkedin

    Jonathan Bloomer is one of the six people who remain missing this morning.

    He is the chairman of Morgan Stanley Bank International and insurance company Hiscox.

    The 70-year-old Briton was educated at Imperial College London and had previously served on a number of company boards.