Lynch’s body was brought ashore in a blue body bag and taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital morgue. Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, has not yet been found, the source said. The bodies of four other people missing when the boat sank were found on the yacht on August 21.

The 56-metre British-flagged superyacht Bayesian, carrying 22 passengers and crew, was anchored off Porticello, near Palermo, when it disappeared beneath the waves within minutes of bad weather.

Lynch, 59, is one of the UK's most prominent tech entrepreneurs. He invited friends on a yacht trip to celebrate his recent acquittal in a major US fraud trial.

In addition to Lynch and his daughter, others who did not escape the boat were Morgan Stanley International director Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo.

Fifteen people, including Lynch's wife, escaped safely, while the body of the ship's cook, Antiguan-Canadian Recaldo Thomas, was found near the wreck several hours after the disaster.

For the past three days, professional rescue teams have been searching inside the sunken yacht's hull, but the operation has encountered many difficulties due to the depth and narrow area where divers have to search.

It was a shocking disaster because maritime experts said the yacht, built by Italian luxury yacht maker Perini and considered to be top safety, was capable of withstanding such weather.

Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese have opened an investigation and authorities have begun questioning passengers and witnesses.

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of the Italian Sea Group, said the Bayesian is "one of the safest boats in the world" and is essentially unsinkable.

In an interview with Italian media, he added that he believed the disaster was due to a series of human errors and that the storm had been predicted.

"The ship sank because of flooding, investigators will have to come to a conclusion," Costantino told the news program late on August 21.

Citing data from the cruise ship's automated tracking system and available footage, Costantino said it took 16 minutes from when the wind began to blow hard against the yacht, until it began to take on water, before it sank. Costantino said the Milan-listed group had suffered "huge damage" to its reputation, with its share price down 2.5% since the disaster.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)