Recovered body believed to be chef Recaldo Thomas

A physique recovered close to the luxurious yacht which sank off the coast of Sicily is believed to be that of chef Recaldo Thomas.

The Canadian-Antiguan nationwide was one in every of 22 individuals aboard the Bayesian when it sank throughout a violent storm on Monday.

His good friend Gareth Williams described him as well-loved and type, with “the deepest, most sultry voice on the earth, and a smile that lit up the room”.

Divers are struggling to achieve the cabins of the sunken vessel as they seek for six lacking passengers together with the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and the Morgan Stanley International financial institution chairman Jonathan Bloomer.

British investigators arrived in Italy on Tuesday to evaluate what occurred throughout the excessive climate that hit the yacht.

The Bayesian capsized round 700m (2,300ft) from Porticello, simply east of Sicily’s capital Palermo, early on Monday morning.

Of the 22 individuals on board, 15 survived – together with a British mom who described holding her child woman above the floor of the ocean to avoid wasting her from drowning.

So far just one physique, that of Recaldo Thomas, has been discovered.

Mr Williams mentioned he had recognized the chef for 30 years as they’d grown up collectively in Antigua, the place Thomas lived throughout yachting’s low season.

“He instructed me simply the opposite day that he wanted to work two extra seasons to repair up his late dad and mom’ home. He cherished yachting, however he was drained,” Mr Williams instructed the BBC’s Insaf Abbas.

Another good friend, Eli Fuller, mentioned he first met the chef 25 years in the past and that he was a job mannequin to younger individuals.

“Personality was essential in his job. The world’s richest individuals wish to hang around with somebody social. He was wanted,” Mr Fuller mentioned.

“The children would see all these white individuals engaged on yachts. For them to see an Antiguan man travelling everywhere in the world – it was vital for our neighborhood,” he added.

It is believed the Bayesian was struck by a twister over the water – in any other case often known as a waterspout – which triggered the vessel to capsize and sink to the seabed.

There are additionally stories that the boat’s mast snapped, whereas different components embrace water coming into by hatches which can have been open as a result of scorching temperatures.

The Italian coastguard mentioned on Tuesday afternoon that their search was persevering with and that divers have been understanding the right way to safely enter the wreckage.

Earlier a member of the diving workforce, Marco Tilotta, mentioned accessing it had been troublesome as a result of the hull of the Bayesian is titled at a 90 diploma angle on the seafloor.

He instructed Reuters information company that there was a “a world of objects” obstructing the slim stairs main into the cabins.

“We are usually not stopping,” he added. “We have sources, manpower and means. Our aim is to search out all of the people who find themselves lacking, so that’s our job.”

Divers are solely in a position to spend round 12 minutes beneath water, which means that by the point they attain the wreckage, they solely have about 10 minutes to go looking it.

As properly as a number of groups of divers, the coastguard mentioned they’d 5 patrol boats, at the least two helicopters and a remotely operated underwater car.

Specialist divers educated to function in small areas have been flown in from Rome and Sardinia.

The crusing vessel, which was 56m (183ft) lengthy and flying a British flag, was carrying 10 crew and 12 passengers when it sank.

Among the lacking are Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, in addition to Jonathan Bloomer and his spouse Judy.

Neda Morvillo, an American jewelry designer, and her husband Chris are additionally lacking. The information was confirmed by his regulation agency Clifford Chance.

Mr Lynch was acquitted in June of a number of fraud expenses regarding the $11bn (£8.6bn) sale of his firm Autonomy to the US computing big Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

A relative of one of many survivors mentioned legal professionals who had represented Mr Lynch within the authorized proceedings – the place Mr Bloomer had been a defence witness – had been invited on board the Bayesian to rejoice.

Ayla Ronald, a senior affiliate at Clifford Chance, and her husband have been among the many individuals rescued from the yacht when it sank.

Separately, it was confirmed on Tuesday that Mr Lynch’s co-defendant Stephen Chamberlain, 52, died after being hit by a automotive whereas out working in Cambridgeshire on Saturday.

His household described him as a “much-loved husband, father, son, brother and good friend”.