Mike Lynch yacht: body of British tech entrepreneur retrieved by Italian coastguard, reports say – as it happened

2.40pm BST

Summary of the day

• The British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been confirmed dead by search and rescue authorities after a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm on Monday, according to two news agencies.

• Search efforts continue as Lynch’s daughter, Hannah, remains unaccounted for.

• Figures from the UK’s business and technology sectors paid tribute to Mike Lynch.

• Prosecutors in Termini Imerese, who have opened an investigation into the incident, examined videos and photographs taken on the night of the storm by some local residents.

• Assostampa, one of the main unions of Italian journalists, issued a press release accusing the authorities of hindering the work of reporters on the incident.

1.57pm BST

David Tabizel , Mike Lynch ’s co-founder at Autonomy, paid tribute to his colleague.

“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,” he said, the PA news agency reported.

12.58pm BST

Assostampa, one of the main unions of Italian journalists, has issued a press release accusing the authorities of hindering the work of reporters on the Bayesian incident in Porticello.

According to the union, the “silence of the authorities is making the work of the press difficult, forcing them to carry out a complex and challenging task in order to verify the news”.

Assostampa urged the prosecutors from Termini Inerese, who launched an investigation into the incident, to inform journalists about the status of their inquiry through a “press conference or a statement”.

Updated at 1.07pm BST

12.21pm BST

Here’s an update on developments thus far today:

The British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been confirmed dead by search and rescue authorities after a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm, according to two news agencies.

Lynch, 59, the founder of Autonomy Corporation , was among six people missing after the British-flagged 56-metre sailing boat Bayesian capsized at about 5am local time off the coast of Palermo when the area was hit by a tornado.

Both Reuters and AFP news agencies reported that Lynch’s body had been recovered from the wreck, citing sources close to the rescue operation.

His wife, Angela Bacares , was rescued, while his 18-year-old daughter remains unaccounted for.

The bodies of four people were recovered from the sunken wreck of the yacht on Wednesday. The body of the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas , was located shortly after the vessel sank.

Read the full story , by Jamie Grierson and Matthew Weaver

11.56am BST

Figures from the UK’s business and technology sectors have paid tribute to Mike Lynch , the PA Media news agency reports .

As well as founding the software giant Autonomy , he was on the board of several prominent institutions including the BBC and the British Library , and was a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering .

The academy paid tribute to its “mentor, donor and former council member” on Thursday.

In a statement, it said: “Mike became a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2008 and we have fond memories of the active role he played in the past as a mentor, donor and former council member.

“He was also one of the inaugural members on the enterprise committee. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Francis Crick Institute described Mike Lynch as a “human being of great ability”.

Lynch was a member of the Create The Change fundraising board, set up by Cancer Research UK and which helped fund the building of the Institute, a biomedical research centre.

Lord John Browne said: “Mike Lynch should be remembered as the person who catalysed a breed of deep tech entrepreneurs in the UK.

“His ideas and his personal vision were a powerful contribution to science and technology in both Britain and globally. I send my condolences to those close to him.”

Technology industry group TechUK added to the tributes.
A spokesperson said: “Mike Lynch was a hugely significant and pioneering figure in the UK technology sector. Our hearts go out to all of the families and friends who have been impacted by these tragic events.”

11.33am BST

A decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is “not on the agenda” but “will be,” the Italian Coastguard’s Vincenzo Zagarola told the PA news agency.

11.21am BST

Prosecutors in Termini Imerese, who have opened an investigation into the incident, have been examining videos and photographs taken on the night of the storm by some local residents.

The coast guard has visited all private homes and public places with surveillance cameras, seizing the clips.

In the footage, the British sailboat Bayesian is seen sinking into the stormy sea within a few minutes.

Fishers in the Sicilian village of Porticello who witnessed the Bayesian superyacht sink rapidly say that the vessel was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But Italian prosecutors investigating the incident are focusing on whether the captain and crew took all the necessary safety measures to prevent the tragedy.

Updated at 11.28am BST

9.38am BST

The fifth body recovered this morning reportedly belonged to Mike Lynch , the state news agency Ansa has reported.

The only body still missing is that of Lynch’s eighteen-year-old daughter Hannah , who has not yet been located.

The five bodies have been taken to a morgue in Palermo.

Updated at 9.39am BST

9.32am BST

Here are the latest images from Porticello, as efforts continue to locate a sixth missing body.

Updated at 9.44am BST

9.07am BST

Mike Lynch's body retrieved: report

Reuters, citing a source close to the rescue operation, is reporting that the body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch was retrieved today.

Lynch’s teenage daughter Hannah is still missing, Reuters reported.

Updated at 9.08am BST

8.18am BST

Fifth body recovered as authorities aim to locate sixth body today

The head of Sicily’s civil protection agency, Salvatore Cocina , told the Guardian this morning that the fifth body inside the yacht has been successfully recovered and transported to Porticello’s pier.

Dive teams from the fire brigade have now resumed the search for the final missing body within the Bayesian vessel this morning.

Italian media, quoting sources from the divers, confirmed the identification of Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo , as well as Jonathan Bloomer , and his wife Judy Bloomer among the retrieved victims on Wednesday.

The bodies of Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah are still unaccounted for at this stage. The sixth body has not been located yet.

“We are still working on it,” Giuseppe Petrone , the national director of Italy’s firefighting department divers, told the Guardian. “We should be able to recover the sixth body today,” he added.

Updated at 8.19am BST

8.07am BST

Fifth body recovered from sunken yacht

A fifth body located by Italian search teams has been recovered from the sunken Bayesian yacht, the PA news agency reported.

The body has been brought to shore.

The UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch , his teenage daughter Hannah Lynch, the Morgan Stanley International chair, Jonathan Bloomer , his wife, Judy Bloomer , and the Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo , have been missing since the vessel went down on Monday morning.

Updated at 8.15am BST