Lynch family ‘devastated’ and ‘in shock’ after bodies of Mike Lynch and daughter Hannah recovered from yacht

The family of Mike and Hannah Lynch are “devastated” and “in shock” after they died when the a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily.

On Friday, the body of Hannah, 18, was the last to be recovered from the wreckage of the Bayesian superyacht.

Unconfirmed reports in the Italian media suggest prosecutors are set to announce a manslaughter investigation into the incident.

Cambridge entrepreneur Dr Lynch and his daughter lost their lives along with Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo when the yacht sank at around 5am local time on Monday.

In a statement, Mike and Hannah’s family 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.”

Dr Lynch was the founder of Autonomy, the Cambridge software company Autonomy and was involved in the formation of number of other successful Cambridge companies, including cybersecurity unicorn Darktrace, AI company Luminance and investment company Invoke Capital.

In June, he was acquitted of all fraud charges after a 13-year legal saga centred around the $11bn (£8.4billion) sale of Autonomy to Silicon Valley company Hewlett Packard (HP). The boat trip was a celebration of Dr Lynch’s acquittal in the case, with those who had represented him or helped him invited along.