A search for six people, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter, who have been missing since a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily, continues. Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy, Chris Morvillo, and his wife are also missing.
The mother of a crew member who survived the sinking of a superyacht off the coast of Sicily has said she is “beyond relieved that my daughter’s life was spared by the grace of God”.
Leah Randall, from South Africa, was among the crew members who survived the sinking of the British-flagged yacht, called Bayesian, which had 10 crew and 12 passengers on board when it sank at about 5am local time on Monday.
The vessel was struck by a tornado off the coast of Palermo.
While a huge search for six missing people – four of whom are British – continues, the body of the vessel’s Canadian-Antiguan chef, Recaldo Thomas, has been found, the Italian Coastguard confirmed on Tuesday evening.
Leah’s mum, Heidi, told Sky News she was “beyond relieved” to hear her “daughter’s life was spared by the grace of God”.
She added: “It doesn’t make it any easier living with the heartache of those who have lost their lives/missing.
“My very deepest condolences to the chef’s family as they formed a great friendship.”
The search also continues for Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at major firm Clifford Chance, and both of their wives – Judy Bloomer and Neda Morvillo.
A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley said they were “deeply shocked and saddened” and added: “Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular the Bloomer family, as we all wait for further news from this terrible situation.”
UK insurer Hiscox, which Mr Bloomer also chaired, confirmed his wife was also among the missing on Tuesday.
A Clifford Chance spokesperson added its priority was “providing support to the family as well as our colleague Ayla Ronald, who together with her partner, thankfully survived the incident”.
Meanwhile, crew members Katja Chicken and Leo Eppel have been confirmed as survivors.
Survivors have been seen at the Di Cristina hospital in Palermo, while the coastguard said it believes Mr Lynch and the five others missing may still be inside the sunken yacht.
Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil protection agency said: “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Mum held baby above water to save her
Among the survivors is a mother who held her one-year-old baby above the waves.
Charlotte Golunski, 35, told la Repubblica she lost her baby Sofia for “two seconds”, adding: “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.”