Mike Lynch Yacht Update: Divers enter hull and find “air pocket” that could mean there are survivors still alive inside the Baysian

The prominent New York lawyer, one of six missing passengers from a yacht that sank off the coast of Italy, was accompanied by his longtime client, British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who just weeks earlier had helped Lynch avoid conviction in a 12-year legal battle.

Divers continued searching Tuesday for lawyer and former federal prosecutor Christopher Morbillo, a partner at the law firm Clifford Chance, and his wife, Neda, as well as Lynch and three other missing passengers.

London-based international law firm Clifford Chance said in a statement on Tuesday that senior associate Ira Ronald and a partner at the firm are among the survivors. Ronald is also representing Lynch, according to his profile on the firm’s website.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic incident,” a Clifford Chance spokesman said.

Morbillo, 59, was lead lawyer for Lynch, who was acquitted in June after a three-month San Francisco fraud trial stemming from Hewlett-Packard’s ill-fated acquisition of Lynch’s software company, Autonomy. He has represented the British entrepreneur since 2012.

He is the son of Robert Morbillo, who was considered one of New York’s most accomplished criminal defense lawyers until his death in 2011. His brother, Morbillo, is also a well-known white-collar crime lawyer and a former assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan who helped with the criminal investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Lynch sold Autonomy to HP for $11 billion in 2011, but the deal fell apart spectacularly and the US tech giant accused Lynch of fraud.

Morbillo put Lynch on the stand to question the defence at his US criminal trial this summer – a bold move that paid off when a jury acquitted him. Lynch testified that he had no involvement in transactions that prosecutors said amounted to a massive accounting fraud at Autonomy.

In a podcast interview with white-collar crime lawyer David Oscar Marcus posted last week, Morbillo said he first joined Lynch’s legal team in November 2012, shortly after HP wrote down the value of Autonomy by $8.8 billion. “It’s been a third of my career,” Morbillo said of working for Lynch.

Mike Lynch’s friends described him as “very easy to talk to” with a “great sense of humor.”

Richard Smith, who lives near Mr Lynch in the village of Pettistry, Suffolk, told the BBC: “He was very friendly and easy to talk to, he had a great sense of humour. You’d think he’d be difficult to talk to because he was rich, but in fact he was very easy to talk to.”

Security camera footage showed the moment a storm off the coast of Sicily engulfed the Baysian luxury yacht with 22 people on board.

The black-and-white footage shows the aircraft’s tall mast as rain appears to be falling heavily in the foreground.

My colleague Jabed Ahmed reports:

A couple who were among six people missing after the sinking of the Baysian yacht have been described as “incredibly generous people” by a local church pastor.

Speaking about Jonathan and Judy Bloomer, the Rev Tim Edwards, from Knockholt, Kent, told BBC South East: “There’s so much we don’t know at the moment.”

He added that the couple are “deeply” involved in the village community and are active in local charities.

The UK government’s Marine Investigation Service said it had sent four investigators to Sicily to carry out a “preliminary investigation” after the sinking of the Baysian yacht.

Emergency teams trying to reach the submerged Baysian yacht will be faced with “big choices” as rescue efforts intensify, a marine diving and wreckage expert has said.

Bertrand Sibauz told BBC News: “I think the maximum depth a professional diver of a certain category can go is 50 metres, so he would need to go down with some kind of helmet and tube, connect to the surface for oxygen, and be able to talk and hear and communicate what he has seen and done.”

“It’s always very difficult, especially on a sailing ship, with ropes everywhere and sails drifting with the current because we’re in the Mediterranean and not the English Channel.”

“But the most important thing is that, as you know, in these circumstances it is very difficult to get inside the wreck and at some point they will have to make a big choice between raising the whole wreck or trying to rescue the bodies.”

Recardo Thomas, believed to be the superyacht chef, has been photographed after his death when the Baysian sank.

The Palermo Port Authority told Canadian broadcaster CBC News that the body of Canadian-born Thomas, who was living in Antigua, had been recovered from the wreckage.

Gareth Williams, a friend of the chef, told the BBC: “Everyone who knew him would say he was a much-loved, kind-hearted and gentle man.”

Friends have paid tribute on social media, with one saying: “Rest in peace big man. I love you and always will. I don’t know what else to say.”

Another wrote: “Recardo Thomas we will miss you so much. Still can’t believe it.”

The BBC and some Italian newspapers initially reported his name as Riccardo Thomas.

A Canadian foreign ministry spokesman said the ministry was “aware of reports that a Canadian national has died” and that consular officials were in contact with local authorities, but declined to provide further information.

A life raft was recovered from the scene where a yacht sank in the harbour of Porticello.

Sky News reported that survivors used inflatable lifeboats to escape.

The twin brother of one of the six missing said he was struggling to come to terms with what had happened and felt “numb”.

The twin brother of Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer told the BBC that the family was “doing the best they can” but had not received any new information about the search.

“It’s a slow process and it takes time, so there may be air pockets, but we don’t know,” Jeremy Bloomer said.

He continued, “He was my brother, 30 minutes older than me, so to lose your twin brother means a lot. We’ll have to wait and see, but I wish him the best of luck.”

He described the situation as “horrible” and “unimaginable”, saying: “I’m just stunned. I’m totally blank. I don’t know what to think and I can’t believe this has happened.”