Former classmates of a teenager feared dead following the Bayesian yacht disaster say they are "shocked" as they anxiously await further developments. Hannah Lynch, 18, had this month received her A-level results and is bound for University of Oxford to study English. She had attended the prestigious Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, which said last night its thoughts are with the young woman's family.
The statement read: "We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates." Hannah was on the boat with her tech tycoon father, Mike Lynch, but the vessel sank when it was moored half-a-mile off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, Italy on Monday morning during fierce storms . The search for the pair, and a further four tourists - including Morgan Stanley chair Jonathan Bloomer and his wife - continues today.
Fifteen people, however, have survived the ordeal, including a fearless British mum who saved her one-year-old baby from drowning . Hannah's mother, Angela Bacares, also survived. Latymer Upper School is a private, £25,000-a-year school, a short walk from the River Thames near the affluent Ravenscourt Park area.
The school's academic results place it among the top schools nationally, and alumni include members of both Houses of Parliament, winners of Olympic medals, actors, musicians, and many figures in the arts and sciences. Tornado-speed winds flipped the superyacht in the early hours of Monday morning. Rescue efforts are currently underway, with Vincenzo Zagarola of the Italian Coastguard telling PA news agency authorities believe the missing six people are likely to be trapped inside the boat .
"Of course, we do not exclude that they are not inside the boat, but we know the boat sank quickly. We suppose that the six people missing may not have had time to get out of the boat," he said. The cruise was reportedly a celebration of Mr Lynch's recent acquittal of fraud charges in the United States .
The Telegraph reported Mr Lynch had guests from the legal firm that represented him and his own company to join him on the voyage..
