Superyacht's Chef Is Confirmed to Have Died in Sinking

The person confirmed dead after a luxury superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily is believed to be chef Recaldo Thomas, one of 10 crew members aboard the vessel. The Canadian-Antiguan national was a kind person beloved by those who knew him, a friend tells the BBC, adding that Thomas had "a smile that lit up the room." Of the 22 people aboard the Bayesian when it sank Monday amid a violent storm, 15 were rescued. The six others, who remain missing, are feared dead, the Guardian reports. They are British tech billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah; Lynch's lawyer Chris Morvillo and Morvillo's wife Neda; and Jonathan Bloomer, the chair of Morgan Stanley International bank, and Bloomer's wife Judy.

Another friend of Thomas says he was a role model. "The kids would see all these white people working on yachts. For them to see an Antiguan man traveling all over the world—it was important for our community," he says. "Personality was very important in his job. The world's richest people want to hang out with someone social. He was sought after." (Lynch's former business partner, who was acquitted of fraud charges alongside Lynch in June, was fatally struck by a car days before the yacht sank.)