Tributes have been paid to 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, after divers recovered what is believed to be her body in the wreckage of a luxury yacht which sank off Sicily.
Hannah was the last person unaccounted for after the luxury yacht Bayesian foundered during a freak storm off the Italian fishing village of Porticello, east of Palermo, claiming seven lives in total.
Friends have described her as a “warm and beautiful soul”, while teachers praised her “sky-high intellectual ability”.
The body of her father, tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, was recovered from the shipwreck earlier this week.
The family released a picture of the two on Friday.
In a statement a spokesperson said: “The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is 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.”
Sushovan Hussain, a close friend and colleague of Mr Lynch, said he and his wife were “utterly devastated by the deaths of so many of our dear friends”.
“We have known Hannah since her birth, and for her to be taken on the precipice of her life is cruel beyond belief,” he added.
“Mike was the most brilliant mind and caring person I have ever known,” another close friend, Andrew Kanter, said. “His passion for life, knowledge and all those around him was instantly inspiring to everyone he met, and he will be sorely missed.”
The Italian Coast Guard released a statement saying the rescue operations have come to an end with the recovery of Hannah Lynch, adding that a total of seven people were confirmed dead.
The survivors include a one-year-old child and Hannah’s mother, Angela Bacares.
Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo and the boat’s chef Recaldo Thomas all died in the disaster.
Rescuers described the operation, which has been ongoing since Monday, as “complex”, with divers limited to 12-minute underwater shifts.
After reports emerged that the final body had been found, a coastguard vessel which had been at the site of the shipwreck for hours could be seen back in the port.
Meanwhile, a helicopter landed nearby as divers took off their orange suits on the quayside.
A decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is “not on the agenda” but will be in the future, a spokesperson from the Italian Coastguard has said.
The ship was “practically intact” on the seabed, according to divers on the search and rescue team.
Hannah Lynch had recently finished her A-levels and had been offered a place to study English at the University of Oxford, according to the Times.
“We are all incredibly shocked by the news,” a spokesperson for London’s Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, where Hannah was a former pupil, said.
“Our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved,” they added.
Gracie Lea, a classmate of Hannah, described her as “easy to love: sincere, dedicated, fiercely intelligent and genuinely kind. I’ll always remember her smiling”.
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