British business tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch were killed after their luxury yacht Bayesian sank during a storm off the coast of Sicily on Monday. On Friday, search divers recovered the seventh and final body from the sunken superyacht, reported The Washington Post.
Cosimo Nicastro, a spokesman for the Italian Coast Guard, confirmed the identity of the victim as Hannah. “I can confirm it to you, the last victim inside the hull has been found,” he said. Mike's trial lawyer Christopher Morvillo, his trial witness Jonathan Bloomer, and three others were also killed in the tragedy.
Hannah Lynch's sister, Esme said that Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me, adding no matter what, she brought boundless love. "She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive, and joyful sister and best friend to me," she said.
She had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals, Esme told The Guardian. "She is my little angel, my star."
On behalf of the Lynch family, a spokesperson said they were devastated, in shock, and were being comforted and supported by family and friends. "Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue. Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief," the statement added.
Jon Mitropoulos-Monk, Hannah Lynch's English professor at Latymer Upper School in West London was all praises for his student. He said he taught Hannah for four years and would remember her for what she taught him "kindness, compassion, and commitment".
She said she had never taught someone who "combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm" like Hannah did. She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning, the teacher said about the 18-year-old.
Calling the 18-year-old “one of the best English students in the country”, she told the English daily, “By age 16, she'd read Joyce, Faulkner and Nabokov … She loved literature, learning and life. She was so excited to start studying English at Oxford, a goal she had worked so hard towards."
When she got her place, she sought out every single member of the Latymer upper English department to thank them individually and give them a hug, the teacher added.
Hannah Lynch's friends had nothing but kind words for their friend. The love Hannah had for everything she held dear was passionate and pure, said Katya Lewis, adding her friend had a warm and beautiful soul.
"When I think of Hannah, I think of poetry, sunshine and her beautiful eyes," said Hannah's classmate, Gracie Lea. "She was easy to love: sincere, dedicated, fiercely intelligent and genuinely kind. I'll always remember her smiling."
Not long after the Bayesian sank, fifteen people, including Angela Bacares, Hannah Lynch's mother, were saved. During the preliminary search, Recaldo Thomas, the yacht pilot, was found dead.
