'We Are in Shock,' Prominent N.Y.C. Attorney's Firm Says After He and His Wife Go Missing in Yacht Sinking

"Our utmost priority is providing support to the family," a spokesperson for Clifford Chance says

Prominent New York City attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo, remain missing along with four others after the yacht they were on sank off the coast of Sicily this week following a serious storm.

While search efforts have continued, many of the investigators involved now presume the missing are dead after becoming trapped on the Bayesian as it went into the water early on Monday, Aug. 19.

"We are in shock and deeply saddened by this tragic incident," a spokesperson for Christopher Morvillo's law firm, Clifford Chance, says in a statement to PEOPLE.

"Our thoughts are with our Partner, Christopher Morvillo, and his wife Neda who are among the missing, and with their families," the spokesperson continues.

The Italian coast guard previously said that 22 people were on the Bayesian, including 12 passengers and 10 crew.

Fifteen people were soon rescued after the yacht sank, according to the coast guard, and a body was also retrieved near the vessel and later identified in news reports as the chef, Ricardo Thomas.

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A source close to the survivors tells PEOPLE that the yacht trip was a celebratory one after British businessman Mike Lynch was acquitted in June in a financial fraud trial in the U.S.

"That's why he took his closest friends and colleagues on the trip," the source says. Lynch remains missing along with his daughter, Hannah; his wife, Angela Bacares, was among those rescued from the yacht.

Christopher Morvillo had represented Lynch in the fraud case. Other firm employees were on the Bayesian as well, according to the Clifford Chance spokesperson.

Related: Survivor of Yacht That Sank Off Sicily's Coast Recalls How She Used 'All My Strength' to Save Her 1-Year-Old

"Our utmost priority is providing support to the family as well as our colleague Ayla Ronald, who together with her partner, thankfully survived the incident," the spokesperson says in their statement. "Our thoughts extend to the other passengers and crew and all those affected. We have no further comment at this time. We, and the families, ask that their request for privacy is honored during this period."

Morvillo's biography on the Clifford Chance website details extensive legal experience: A New York-based attorney, he previously worked as a federal prosecutor and "assisted in the criminal investigation arising out of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks," among other trials.

His wife, Neda, has been described by news outlets including the BBC as a a designer of fine jewelry.

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