Families pay tribute after Sicily yacht tragedy

Five bodies have been recovered after a luxury yacht sank in Sicily, as ITV News Correspondent Stacey Foster reports

The families of those who died after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily four days ago have paid tribute to them.

Relatives of Jonathan and Judy Bloomer, and Chris and Neda Morvillo, said they were grieving all lost in the tragedy and thanked those involved in search efforts.

Mike Lynch, the British tech tycoon who owned the Bayesian yacht, was also confirmed to have died on Thursday.

Paying tribute, Jonathan and Judy Bloomer's family said they were “incredible people and an inspiration to many”.

"First and foremost they were focused on and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren," they said.

"Together for five decades, our only comfort is that they are still together now. This is an unimaginable grief to shoulder. Our only ask is that our family’s privacy is respected at this time.”

The bodies of Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were also recovered after the luxury yacht sank at 5am on Monday.

Their families said they were "completely devastated" by their passing and thanked the Italian rescue services for their unwavering support.

A statement read: "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."

In a tribute to Mr Lynch, family friend Patrick Jacob described feeling "enriched" by his time around him.

“As a friend, Mike was never dull and always ready for a lively debate on almost any topic conducted with intelligence and convivial vigour," he said.

“He could be challenging and direct but I never came away from seeing him without feeling my life was enriched by the experience.”

Mr Lynch's co-founder at Autonomy, David Tabizel, also shared his condolences and said: “It looks like we’ve lost our dear Dr Mike Lynch. RIP. The world has lost a genius. His family have lost a giant of a man.”

Mr Lynch, his daughter, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Mr and Mrs Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo, were all lost when the Bayesian sank at around 5am on Monday.

A body recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday was that of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the yacht, taking the total number of bodies found to six.

Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office investigators have been acquiring evidence for their criminal investigation, which they opened immediately after the sinking despite no formal suspects having been publicly identified.

Questions have been raised over what caused the superyacht, built in 2008 by Italian shipyard Perini Navi, to rapidly sink, when the nearby Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat was largely spared and managed to rescue the survivors.

Inspections of the yacht's internal hull took place earlier on Wednesday morning, while a team of four British inspectors from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) arrived in Porticello.

The Bayesian was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank.

James Bird, a commercial diver and former rigger who worked on the Bayesian, explained to ITV News the difficult conditions dive crews could encounter.

He said: "There are passageways, corridors, cabins leading off left and right, and certainly when you get down to the cabins, the cabins are lower down in the vessel.

'You're talking about a hatch no bigger than a car door in some places' - James Bird, a commercial diver and former rigger who worked on the Bayesian, told ITV News that rescue crews will face 'restricted access' when conducting searches

"They're a deck down from the outside deck so you're talking about going inside the vessel and down the staircase into a corridor, deck down and then you're looking in cabins either side. 

"So to penetrate the wreck you're talking a couple of minutes to find your way in and then obviously finding your way back out again."

Of the 22 passengers and crew onboard, 15 - including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares - were rescued after escaping onto a lifeboat.

Survivors have been taken to a hotel in Porticello, where authorities are gathering witness statements.

The ship's captain James Calfield, 51, told Italian media: "We didn't see it coming."

British tourist Charlotte Golunski, who survived the sinking, told local newspaper La Repubblica she held her one-year-old daughter, Sofia, to stop her from drowning.

Ms Golunski and Sofia were treated in hospital, as was the child's father, James Emsley. The doctor who treated them said it was a "miracle" the toddler had been saved.

Mr Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of conducting a massive fraud relating to the $11 billion (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.

The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal.

A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley said the bank was "shocked and saddened" while Clifford Chance said it was a "tragic incident".

The former school of Mr Lynch's daughter has said its "thoughts are with their family and everyone involved".

Separately, Mr 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."

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