'His smile lit up the room’: Tributes pour in as superyacht chef Recaldo Thomas confirmed dead

20 August 2024, 21:18 | Updated: 20 August 2024, 21:20

Tributes have poured in after a body found Bayesian superyacht was confirmed to be chef Recaldo Thomas.

The superyacht sank in the early hours of Monday morning, as six people remain missing.

Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan chef, was one of ten crew members on the yacht alongside British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his family.

Friends have flooded social media with tributes to the chef following the confirmation of his death.

One friend wrote: “An honour and a pleasure to have been your friend, it just wasn’t long enough….we had so much to conquer.

“Love to the Recaldo Thomas family, I am so sorry. Such a very special person for many of us, the laughter, the great kindness, the generosity, the love. He had so much to give.”

Read more: Tributes paid after co-defendant of tech tycoon Mike Lynch dies following car crash as search continues in yacht tragedy

Another added: “Going to miss you so much Recaldo Thomas. Still finding this so hard to believe.”

Gareth Williams, who knew Thomas for 30 years, told the BBC: “I can talk for everyone that knew him when I say he was a well-loved, kind human being with a calm spirit.

“He would come over to mine over the weekend and he would sing. He had the deepest, most sultry voice in the world, and a smile that lit up the room.

“He told me just the other day that he needed to work two more seasons to fix up his late parents’ house. He loved yachting, but he was tired.”

A spokesperson for the Canadian foreign ministry said they were "aware of reports that a Canadian citizen has died" and said consular officials were in contact with local authorities but declined to offer any further information.

Officials said on Tuesday that those who remain missing are likely to be dead.

Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy, and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo are also missing.

Divers have been trying to find the missing passengers inside the yacht, which is largely intact and lying on the seabed near the coast of Sicily.

Officials believe that the missing people are trapped inside because the boat sank quickly and search and rescue efforts by sea and air have so far delivered no results.

Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian coastguard, said "We think they are still inside the boat, that is our very hard idea.

"Our search and rescue activity by sea and air has gone on for around 36 hours.

"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."

Asked about the likelihood of them being alive, he replied: "Never say never, but reasonably the answer should be not."