Sicily yacht sinking: Vessel’s cook declared dead, six still missing; search ops on

Recaldo Thomas has been identified as the first person to have died in the Bayesian luxury yacht sinking off the coast of Sicily, Italy earlier this week on Monday (Aug 19). Sicily's civil protection agency said the body of the vessel’s cook was discovered earlier on Tuesday. The boat reportedly had 15 people on board at the time of the sinking during bad weather. While the rest have been rescued and one death has been confirmed, six people still remain missing and a search operation is underway.

Specialist divers from the Italian fire brigade have joined the search operation.

Who ismissing?

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The six people who are still missing have been identified as below:

UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch

Mike Lynch’s daughter Hannah Lynch

Chris Morvillo, a lawyer

American jewellery designer Neda Morvillo

Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of the Morgan Stanley International bank and insurance company Hiscox

Judy, the wife of Jonathan Bloomer

Earlier, eight of the rescued people were taken to hospital.

Experts see this tragedy as a sign of the Mediterranean becoming a more dangerous sea to sail in. According to Luca Mercalli, president of Italy’s meteorological society, the mercury soared to around 30 in Sicily in days leading to the August 19 tragedy.

“This creates an enormous source of energy that contributes to these storms,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters. “The water is ... way too hot for the Mediterranean and this causes for sure heavy storms, like we had one week ago on the Balearics, like we had two years ago in Corsica and so on,” said Karsten Borner, the captain of a boat that was moored alongside the Bayesian but escaped harm.

(With inputs from agencies)