A body found near a luxury yacht that sank off Sicily’s coast is believed to be chef Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan national. He was among 22 people on board the Bayesian when it went down during a storm. BBC reports that Thomas was well-loved, with a deep voice and a bright smile, according to his friend Gareth Williams.
BBC also mentioned that divers are having difficulty reaching the yacht’s cabins as they search for six missing passengers, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer. The yacht capsized after possibly being hit by a waterspout, sinking about 700 meters from the Sicilian coast.
Fifteen people survived, but so far, only Thomas’s body has been found. BBC spoke with Gareth Williams, who had known Thomas for 30 years. He recalled that Thomas, who lived in Antigua during the off-season, planned to work two more seasons to fix up his late parents’ house. Another friend, Eli Fuller, highlighted Thomas’s positive influence on young people in their community.
The British investigators arrived to understand what caused the extreme weather that capsized the yacht. According to BBC, the coastguard continues to search, despite challenges accessing the wreckage, as the Bayesian is tilted at a 90-degree angle on the seafloor.
The Bayesian was 56 meters long, carrying 10 crew and 12 passengers. Among the missing are Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, and others, including American jewelry designer Neda Morvillo and her husband Chris. BBC shared that the yacht trip was organized to celebrate Lynch’s acquittal in a fraud case, where Bloomer was a defense witness.
Separately, BBC also reported that Stephen Chamberlain, Lynch’s co-defendant, passed away after being hit by a car in Cambridgeshire. His family described him as a beloved figure, a husband, father, and friend.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3rd9gr8vd8o