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Lynch Yacht Sinking Off Sicily Proves as Baffling as It Is Tragic

As bodies were recovered, the authorities and experts wondered how a $40 million, stable and secure vessel could have sunk so quickly.

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By Emma Bubola and Michael J. de la Merced

Emma Bubola reported from Porticello, Italy, and Michael J. de la Merced from London.

Two months after being cleared in a bruising legal battle over fraud charges, the British tech mogul Mike Lynch celebrated his freedom with a cruise. He invited his family, friends and part of his legal team on board his luxury sailing yacht, a majestic 180-foot vessel named Bayesian after the mathematical theorem around which he had built his empire.

On Sunday night, after a tour of the Gulf of Naples, including Capri, and volcanic islands in the Eolian archipelago, the boat anchored half a mile off the Sicilian coast in Porticello, Italy. It chose a stretch of water favored by the Phoenicians thousands of years ago for its protection from the mistral wind and, in more recent times, by the yachts of tech billionaires. The boat was lit “like a Christmas tree,” local residents said, standing out against the full moon.

But about 4 a.m., calamity unfolded. A violent and fast storm hit the area with some of the strongest winds locals said they had ever felt. Fabio Cefalù, a fisherman, said he saw a flare pierce the darkness shortly after 4.

Minutes later, the yacht was underwater. Only dozens of cushions from the boat’s deck and a gigantic radar from its mast floated on the surface of the sea, fishermen said.

In all, 22 people were on board, 15 of whom were rescued. Six bodies — five passengers and the ship’s cook — had been recovered by Thursday afternoon, including that of Mr. Lynch, an Italian government official said, adding that the search was continuing for his daughter.

It was a tragic and mystifying turn of events for Mr. Lynch, 59, who had spent years seeking to clear his name and was finally inaugurating a new chapter in his life. Experts wondered how a $40 million yacht, so robust and stable could have been sunk by a storm near a port within minutes.

“It drives me insane,” said Giovanni Costantino, the chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which in 2022 bought the company, Perini, that made the Bayesian. “Following all the proper procedures, that boat is unsinkable.”

The aura of misfortune only deepened when it emerged that Stephen Chamberlain, 52, a former vice president of finance for Mr. Lynch’s former company and a co-defendant in the fraud case, was killed two days earlier, when he was hit by a car while jogging near his house in England.

Since June, the two men had been in a jubilant mood. A jury in San Francisco had acquitted both on fraud charges that could have sent them to prison for two decades. There were hugs and tears, and they and their legal teams went for a celebratory dinner party at a restaurant in the city, said Gary S. Lincenberg, a lawyer for Mr. Chamberlain.

The sea excursion was meant as a thank-you by Mr. Lynch to those who had helped him in his legal travails. Among the guests was Christopher J. Morvillo, 59, a scion of a prominent New York family of lawyers who had represented Mr. Lynch for 12 years. He and his wife, Neda, 57, were among the missing.

So, too, was Jonathan Bloomer, 70, a veteran British insurance executive who chaired Morgan Stanley International and the insurer Hiscox.

The body of the ship’s cook, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered. All the other crew members survived. Among them was Leo Eppel, 19, of South Africa, who was on his first yacht voyage working as a deck steward, said a friend, who asked not to be identified.

Since the sinking, the recovery effort and investigation have turned the tiny port town of Porticello, a quiet enclave where older men sit bare-chested on balconies, into what feels like the set of a movie.

Helicopters have flown overhead. Ambulances have sped by with the sirens blaring. The Coast Guard has patrolled the waters off shore, within sight of a cordoned-off dock that had been turned into an emergency headquarters.

On Wednesday afternoon, a church bell tolled after the first body bag was loaded into an ambulance, a crowd watching in silence.

The survivors were sheltering in a sprawling resort near Porticello, with a view of the shipwreck spot, and had so far declined to comment.

Attilio Di Diodato, director of the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, said that the yacht had most likely been hit by a fierce “down burst” — when air generated within a thunderstorm descends rapidly — or by a waterspout , similar to a tornado over water.

He added that his agency had put out rough-sea warnings the previous evening, alerting sailors about storms and strong winds. Locals said the winds “felt like an earthquake.”

Mr. Costantino, the boat executive, said the yacht had been specifically designed for having a tall mast — the second-tallest aluminum mast in the world. He said the Bayesian was an extremely safe and secure boat that could list even to 75 degrees without capsizing.

But he said that if some of the hatches on the side and in the stern, or some of the deck doors, had been open, the boat could have taken on water and sunk. Standard procedure in such storms, he said, is to switch on the engine, lift the anchor and turn the boat into the wind, lowering the keel for extra stability, closing doors and gathering the guests in the main hall inside the deck.

12 guests occupied the yacht’s six cabins. There were also 10 crew members.

Open hatches, doors and cabin windows could have let in water during a storm, according to the manufacturer.

Open hatches, doors and

cabin windows could

have let in water

during a storm,

according to the

manufacturer.

Source: Superyacht Times, YachtCharterFleet, MarineTraffic

By Veronica Penney

The New York Times attempted to reach the captain, James Cutfield, who had survived, for comment through social media, his brother and the management company of the yacht (which did not hire the crew), but did not make contact.

So far none of the surviving crew members have made a public statement about what happened that night.

Fabio Genco, the director of Palermo’s emergency services, who treated some of the survivors, said that the victims had recounted feeling as if the boat was being lifted, then suddenly dropped, with objects from the cabins falling on them.

The Italian Coast Guard said it had deployed a remotely operated vehicle that can prowl underwater for up to seven hours at a depth of more than 980 feet and record videos and images that they hoped would help them reconstruct the dynamics of the sinking. Such devices were used during the search and rescue operations of the Titan vessel that is believed to have imploded last summer near the wreckage of the Titanic.

After rescuers broke inside the yacht, they struggled to navigate the ropes and many pieces of furniture cluttering the vessel, said Luca Cari, a spokesman for Italy’s national firefighter corps.

Finally, as of Thursday morning, they had managed to retrieve all but one of the missing bodies, and hopes of finding the missing person alive were thin. “Can a human being be underwater for two days?” Mr. Cari asked.

What was certain was that Mr. Lynch’s death was yet another cruel twist of fate for a man who had spent years seeking to clear his name.

He earned a fortune in technology and was nicknamed Britain’s Bill Gates. But for more than a decade, he had been treated as anything but a respected tech leader.

He was accused by Hewlett-Packard, the American technological pioneer that had bought his software company, Autonomy, for $11 billion, of misleading it about his company’s worth. (Hewlett-Packard wrote down the value of the transaction by about $8.8 billion, and critics called it one of the worst deals of all time .) He had been increasingly shunned by the British establishment that he sought to break into after growing up working-class outside London.

He was extradited to San Francisco to face criminal charges, and confined to house arrest and 24-hour surveillance on his dime. In a townhouse in the Pacific Heights neighborhood — with security people he jokingly told associates were his “roommates” — he spent his mornings talking with researchers whom he funded personally on new applications for artificial intelligence. Afterward, he devoted hours to discussing legal strategy with his team.

Despite his persistent claims of innocence, even those close to Mr. Lynch had believed his odds of victory were slim. Autonomy’s chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, was convicted in 2018 of similar fraud charges and spent five years in prison.

During Mr. Lynch’s house arrest, his brother and mother died. His wife, Angela Bacares, frequently flew over from England, and she became a constant presence in the San Francisco courtroom during the trial.

After he was finally acquitted, Mr. Lynch had his eye on the future. “I am looking forward to returning to the U.K. and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field,” he said.

Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting from Pallanza, Italy.

Emma Bubola is a Times reporter based in Rome. More about Emma Bubola

Michael J. de la Merced has covered global business and finance news for The Times since 2006. More about Michael J. de la Merced

Andrea Rosa, Associated Press Andrea Rosa, Associated Press

Mike Corder, Associated Press Mike Corder, Associated Press

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-we-know-about-the-luxury-yacht-that-sunk-off-the-coast-of-sicily

What we know about the luxury yacht that sunk off the coast of Sicily

PORTICELLO, Sicily (AP) — Specialist cave divers working in 12-minute underwater shifts were searching Tuesday for six missing passengers and crew, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, believed to be in the submerged wreck of a luxury yacht that was slammed by a powerful storm and swiftly sank off Sicily.

The sleek yacht, named the Bayesian, was carrying a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers when it suddenly sank near the Mediterranean island that is part of Italy at about 4 a.m. on Monday. One body has been recovered and 15 people survived.

Fire rescue officials have said the six believed to remain in the sailboat’s hull will be considered missing until they are located in the wreckage.

Here’s what we know so far about the sinking and those who were on board.

What happened?

Italian civil protection officials believe a sudden and fierce storm that battered the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday whipped up a waterspout in the exact spot where the 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged Bayesian was moored.

Karsten Borner, the captain of another yacht moored nearby, said he saw the Bayesian during the storm but when the wild weather passed it was gone and he saw only a red flare lighting the night sky, ANSA and the Giornale di Sicilia newspaper reported.

Borner and one of his crew boarded their tender and found a lifeboat carrying 15 people, some of them injured. They took them aboard their yacht and alerted the coast guard.

Rescue authorities said the wreck was resting at a depth of 50 meters (163 feet) about a half mile offshore of the picturesque fishing village of Porticello.

Who was on board?

Among the missing is 59-year-old tech tycoon Mike Lynch, sometimes described as the British Bill Gates. Lynch was acquitted in June of all charges in a U.S. fraud trial linked to the $11 billion sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

Lynch still faced a potentially huge bill stemming from a civil case in London that HP mostly won during 2022. Damages haven’t been determined in that case, but HP is seeking $4 billion. Lynch made more than $800 million from the Autonomy sale.

A Cambridge-educated mathematician, Lynch made his name running Autonomy, which made a search engine that could pore through emails and other internal business documents to help companies find vital information more quickly.

Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah was reportedly among the missing. His wife, Angela Bacares, and 14 other people survived.

Among others still missing Tuesday, according to the civil protection agency, were one of Lynch’s U.S. lawyers, Christopher Morvillo of Clifford Chance, and Morvillo’s wife, Neda. Morvillo was regarded as an elite defense lawyer and was also a federal prosecutor in New York after 9/11.

Also missing was Jonathan Bloomer, the non-executive chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife, Judy. He is the former head of the Autonomy audit committee and testified for the defense at Lynch’s trial.

Bloomer was also chair of the Hiscox Group, an insurer that does business on the Lloyd’s of London market.

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event,” Hiscox CEO Aki Hussain said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular our chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing, and with their family as they await further news from this terrible situation.”

Among the survivors was Charlotte Golunski, who said she momentarily lost hold of her 1-year-old daughter Sofia in the water, but then managed to grab her and hold her up over the waves until a lifeboat inflated and they were both pulled to safety, Italian news agency ANSA reported. The father, identified by ANSA as James Emslie, also survived.

The Dutch foreign ministry said a Dutch man survived. The ministry, citing privacy, did not release his identity.

One body was recovered on Monday, identified as the on-board chef.

What is the Bayesian?

The Bayesian was a luxury yacht built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Nav. It was known for its single 75-meter (246-feet) aluminum mast — one of the world’s tallest. Online charter sites listed it for rent for up to 195,000 euros (about $215,000) a week.

Its registered owner is listed as Revtom Ltd., based on the Isle of Man, according to online maritime database Equasis. Lynch’s wife is listed as Revtom’s sole owner, according to corporate registration documents from the Isle of Man.

The yacht’s name is an apparent reference to “Bayesian inference,” one of the two main approaches to statistical machine learning and the one that was used by Autonomy.

What is a waterspout?

Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water and can happen when a storm moves across warm water. According to the U.S. National Ocean Service, there are two types of waterspouts — fair-weather and tornadic.

Tornadic waterspouts “have the same characteristics as a land tornado. They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning,” the service says on its website.

While scientists haven’t attributed the specific event to climate change, average monthly surface temperatures have been at record highs for months. Hotter air can hold more moisture, making heavier storms more likely.

Sicily has been baking under intense heat this summer, and the United Nations’ panel of climate change experts notes the Mediterranean is particularly vulnerable to climate change, with warming rates roughly 20% higher than the global average.

What happens next?

As the search for the missing continues, authorities already have begun trying to piece together exactly what happened.

Prosecutors from the Sicilian town of Termini Imerese have opened an investigation, as is normal in such events even when no suspects are identified. To date, they have not commented publicly.

The British Marine Accident Investigation Branch said four of its inspectors were being deployed to Palermo.

Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands.

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• Production Models

U-Boat Worx unveils the Nautilus underwater superyacht at the Monaco Yacht Show

At the 2022 Monaco Yacht Show the Dutch builder U-Boat Worx will review designs for the 1,250-ton, 37.5-meter Yacht Submarine, the Nautilus . Once it is built, the vessel will be equally at ease functioning as a yacht or a submersible. Since Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea came out in 1870, people have been dreaming of a luxury yacht with dive capabilities. Since then, inventors produced a lot of impressive concepts. Unfortunately, not one of these designs has ever been realised.

Being the world leader in the market for small submersibles, U-Boat Worx has now finally succeeded in engineering a realistic combination of luxury and safety in a fully certified private submersible. The diesel-electric Nautilus has a depth rating of 200 meters, with a surface cruise speed of 9 knots and an underwater speed of 4 knots. Once ordered, an owner can expect to have their Nautilus delivered within 30 months. When functioning as a boat, the Nautilus offers a massive sundeck equipped with a freshwater pool, a bar, and a luxurious dining table. This al fresco arrangement is retracted before the submersible slips below sea level.

A newly invented, completely pressure-resistant electrical tender is stowed under the Nautilus’s aft deck and will stay outside while diving. This tender, the Aronnax, may also be used for transporting five scuba divers underwater to the intended dive spot.

The Nautilus interior features a 50 sq. m dinner and lounge area with four circular windows. Each with diameters close to 4 meters. The proposed design for the submarine has a master bedroom and four staterooms, as well as sleeping quarters for up to six crew. A fully equipped galley makes cooking an underwater meal simple and fun. However, interior layouts are fully customisable by the client.

The superyacht submarine will be able to stay under water for up to four days. At cruise speed, the underwater endurance is six hours.

When not in use, the Nautilus can be docked at any quay that can accommodate its 6.5-meter draft.

The Nautilus has a starting price of € 25 million.

“People that have decided to buy a yacht will now have to consider if their vessel of choice can also dive down to 200 meters,” says U-Boat Worx Chairman and Founder Bert Houtman .

As an added bonus, the Nautilus easily combats seasickness. “If the sea becomes too rough,” says Houtman , “You simply dive and continue your voyage in comfort. With the Nautilus, the yachting market will never be the same again.”

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Nautilus: U-Boat Worx releases new renderings of 37.5m superyacht-submarine crossover

Dutch submersible specialist U-Boat Worx has released fresh renderings of a 37.5-metre underwater superyacht concept called Nautilus. First presented during the Monaco Yacht Show 2022, the design has been developed in collaboration with German-Turkish yacht and aviation design studio Officina Armare. 

Capable of functioning as both an on-water vessel as well as a submersible, Nautilus has a depth rating of 150 metres. The diesel-electric model has a surface cruise speed of nine knots and an underwater speed of four knots and it will able to stay underwater for up to four days at a time. At cruise speed, the underwater endurance is six hours and range is 3,200 nautical miles. 

When not in use, Nautilus can be docked at any quay that can accommodate its 6.5-metre draught. 

When functioning as a yacht, Nautilus has a range of relaxation and recreational features including a sizeable sundeck equipped with a freshwater pool, a bar, and a dining table where guests can enjoy meals. When the submersible is lowered below the sea’s surface, this al fresco arrangement can be retracted.

The interior of the submersible yacht includes a 50 square metre dinner and lounge area called the Mezzanine Observation Lounge, which benefits from a set of four-metre circular windows. The proposed design for Nautilus includes a master cabin and four additional cabins, as well as sleeping quarters for up to six crew. 

Elsewhere, Nautilus is home to a pressure-resistant electrical tender, which is stowed under the aft deck. This tender, called Aronnax, may also be used for transporting five scuba divers underwater to the intended dive spot.

“People that have decided to buy a yacht will now have to consider if their vessel of choice can also dive down to 150 meters,” said U-Boat Worx chairman and founder Bert Houtman. He pointed to numerous advantages of Nautilus, including its efficacy when it comes to combatting seasickness. “If the sea becomes too rough,” said Houtman. “You simply dive and continue your voyage in comfort. With the Nautilus, the yachting market will never be the same again.”

He added that the company's vision was to allow people to explore the ocean in the safest, most comfortable and luxurious way. "Nautilus is the realisation of this vision," he said.

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Monaco Yacht Show: U-Boat Worx reveals underwater superyacht concept Nautilus

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By Nina Done   11 October 2022

Dutch builder U-Boat Worx presented their thrilling new 37.5m (123ft) underwater superyacht concept to lucky visitors at the Monaco Yacht Show 2022 .

Dubbed Nautilus , the 1,250-ton diesel-electric vessel is a new class of hybrid submarine coupled with superyacht luxury with a range of on-board facilities. Capable of depths of up to 200m, the superyacht submarine will be able to remain underwater for up to 4 days.

With a series of 4-meter wide circular windows for spectacular underwater vistas, the proposed design features 50 sq. m of lounge and dining space, with acommodation comprising a master bedroom and 4 staterooms, plus sleeping quarters for up to 6 crew. This layout can be fully customisable by the client.

With the Nautilus, the yachting market will never be the same again.

Capable of functioning as a yacht, Nautilus will also feature a retractable sundeck when afloat, replete with a pool, bar and dining option, offering guests an alfresco haven in which to relax and socialise while taking in the beautiful water-level views of their surroundings. 

As an added bonus, the superyacht sub easily combats seasickness. “If the sea becomes too rough,” says U-Boat Worx Chairman and Founder Bert Houtman, “you simply dive and continue your voyage in comfort. With the Nautilus, the yachting market will never be the same again.”

The yacht submarine will also contain a pressure-resistant electrical tender for transporting up to 5 scuba divers underwater to their intended dive spot. When not in use, this tender can be stowed under the vessel’s aft deck.

Nautilus will have a surface cruise speed of 9 knots, with an underwater speed of 4 knots. At cruise speed, the underwater endurance is 6 hours. Her 6.5-meter draft will also allow her to be docked quayside when not in use. 

U-Boat Worx also confirmed an impressive delivery time of within 30 months from the client's initial order.

To learn more about U-Boat Worx superyacht concept Nautilus , or renting a yacht with a personal submarine , please reach out to your preferred yacht charter broker for more information.

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This Hybrid Superyacht-Submarine Concept Can Stay Underwater for up to 4 Days

U-boat worx's nautilus design is the ultimate two-in-one., rachel cormack.

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“People that have decided to buy a yacht will now have to consider if their vessel of choice can also dive down to 200 meters,” U-Boat Worx chairman and founder Bert Houtman said in a statement.

The superyacht submarine will be able to stay underwater for up to four days, but can only cruise underwater for six hours at a time. As an added bonus, the Nautilus can make a quick escape in the face of choppy waters.

“If the sea becomes too rough, you simply dive and continue your voyage in comfort,” Houtman adds. “With the Nautilus, the yachting market will never be the same again.”

The luxurious interior offers all the comforts of a superyacht and can be fully customized by the client. As standard, the layout comprises a combined lounge and dining area of 538 square feet, along with a fully equipped galley, one owner’s suite, four staterooms and sleeping quarters for up to six crew. You’ll have some pretty incredible underwater views, too, thanks to the large circular windows throughout.

When above the water, seafarers can make use of the massive sundeck, which is equipped with a freshwater pool, a bar and an alfresco dining table. This area is neatly retracted before the sub slips below sea level, of course. The Nautilus is also fitted with a new, pressure-resistant electric tender called the Aronnax that can transport up to five seafarers to underwater dive spots. The tender is stowed under the aft deck and stays outside while the Nautilus is diving.

Rachel Cormack is a digital editor at Robb Report. She cut her teeth writing for HuffPost, Concrete Playground, and several other online publications in Australia, before moving to New York at the…

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Deep seas and tight spaces impede search for 6 missing after yacht sinks off Sicily

PORTICELLO, Sicily — Police divers resumed searching Tuesday for six people believed trapped in the hull of a superyacht that sank in deep seas off Sicily, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, who was celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges with the people who had defended him at trial.

The luxury sailboat, off Porticello near Palermo, was some 50 meters (164 feet) underwater — far deeper than most recreational divers are certified for and a depth that requires special precautions. Recovery crews could only stay for 12-minute shifts, a measure that slowed efforts to reach the cramped inside of the wreck.

Divers tag-teamed the shifts and were using a remote-controlled underwater vehicle, or ROV, to help in the search. They hadn’t been able to access the below-deck cabins because they were blocked by furniture that shifted during the violent storm that struck the vessel early Monday. Rescue crews said they assume the missing six are in those cabins because the storm struck when most would be sleeping, but the teams haven’t verified their presence there through portholes.

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The Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged yacht, was moored about a kilometer (a half-mile) offshore when a storm rolled in before 4 a.m. Monday. Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.

Grainy film from closed-circuit cameras from shore, broadcast on the website of the Giornale di Sicilia, showed the majestic, illuminated 75-meter (246-foot) mast of the Bayesian weathering the storm and then disappearing over the course of a minute.

Fifteen of the 22 people aboard survived, including a mother who reported holding her 1-year-old baby over the waves to save her. One body was recovered, identified by officials as the Antiguan-born on-board chef. The rest of the 10-person crew survived, including the captain whom prosecutors reportedly sought to interview.

The survivors were rescued by a nearby sailboat after getting into a lifeboat.

Lynch, who was once hailed as Britain’s king of technology, was cleared in June of fraud and conspiracy charges in a US federal trial related to Hewlett Packard’s $11 billion takeover of his company, Autonomy Corp. His wife, Angela Bacares, survived the sinking. Hannah Lynch, the couple’s 18-year-old daughter, is reportedly unaccounted for.

Also unaccounted for are Christopher Morvillo, one of Lynch’s lawyers, and his wife, Neda; and Jonathan Bloomer, a chairman at Morgan Stanley International and the former head of the Autonomy audit committee who testified in Lynch’s defense, and his wife.

Karsten Borner, the captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell, which rescued the survivors, said he was close enough to see the Bayesian as the storm came in.

“A moment later, she was gone,” he said.

“It’s a great, great tragedy,” said Britain’s ambassador to Italy, Edward Llewellyn, who visited Porticello on Tuesday. Britain sent four investigators to the scene, given the disaster involved a British-flagged ship and British citizens were among the missing.

Luca Cari, a spokesman for the rescue teams, said the search was proceeding much more slowly than another big shipwreck in Italy, the 2012 Costa Concordia cruise ship that flipped on its side off Tuscany’s coast, because of the depth of the wreck and the limited space divers have to maneuver.

“That was much simpler. Here everything is more tight,” he said.

The outing was intended at least in part as a celebration of Lynch’s acquittal and a “looking forward to what was coming next,” said Reid Weingarten, a Washington attorney and a member of Lynch’s defense team who was not on the yacht.

“A lot of people went, a lot of people were planning to go and then, of course, this happened,” Weingarten said.

Weingarten worked with Morvillo and said he “was like a brother.”

Aki Hussain, CEO of international insurer Hiscox Group, where Bloomer was chairman, said the company was “deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event.”

“Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular our Chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing, and with their family as they await further news from this terrible situation,” he added.

Among the survivors, the Emslie family was released from Palermo’s pediatric hospital on Tuesday. Charlotte Golunski had reported that she momentarily lost hold of her 1-year-old daughter, Sofia, in the water but then managed to hold her up over the waves until they were both pulled to safety, doctors said.

The father, identified by ANSA news agency as James Emslie, also survived.

“They don’t talk much, primarily because they consider themselves survivors and they don’t understand why they survived given what they went through,” said Dr. Domenico Cipolla, head of the emergency room at Di Cristina pediatric hospital.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Cipolla said the parents had been in touch with other survivors, who are being housed at a nearby hotel and were waiting for other family members to arrive in Sicily.

The Bayesian, built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Navi, is registered to Revtom Ltd., according to online maritime database Equasis. Bacares, Lynch’s wife, is listed as Revtom’s sole owner, according to corporate registration documents from the Isle of Man.

According to online charter companies, it had been available for charter for 195,000 euros (about $215,000) a week and was notable for its massive 75-meter-tall (246-foot-tall) aluminum mast, one of the tallest in the world.

The coast guard said to date there was no trace of fuel leaks from the wreckage.

In an unrelated event, Lynch’s co-defendant in the Autonomy trial who was also cleared, Stephen Chamberlain, was killed Sunday when he was hit by a car while running in Cambridgeshire, England, said Chamberlain’s lawyer, Gary Lincenberg.

Winfield reported from Rome. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington, and Danica Kirka and Kelvin Chan in London, contributed.

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Captain of boat that helped rescue passengers on sunken £14m yacht speaks out on moment it went underwater

Karsten borner found the life raft with surviving passengers, revealing what him and his crew went through in the middle of the storm.

Joshua Nair

The valiant captain of a boat that helped to rescue 15 passengers and crew from the doomed Bayesian superyacht has described what he saw when he got to the sinking ship.

Karsten Borner spoke about his experience while manning his boat, which was close to colliding with the £14 million vessel in the midst of a tornado hitting the coast of Sicily Monday (19 August) morning.

The horrid weather capsized the 55-metre Bayesian superyacht, which was also carrying 22 passengers and crew at the time, with six still currently missing , as authorities continue their search.

One of the missing people has been confirmed to be the owner of the vessel, UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch , known as the ' British Bill Gates', along with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah. His wife, Angela, made it out safely.

Most passengers were in their cabins when the tornado hit, though divers sent down to look for bodies claimed to have found 'corpses' in the vessel's portholes .

Very few people saw the state of the superyacht in the early morning yesterday, but Borner was very vivid in his recollection of the moment, as he explained to Global News: "We managed to keep the ship in position, and after the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone."

Even though it was anchored up near the Porticello port in Palermo, the heavy rainfall caused the superyacht to start sinking as it filled with water, as he said that Lynch's yacht 'went flat on the water and then down'.

Borner was manning the Sir Robert BP as him and his crew were slapped with strong gusts of wind and torrential rainfall, meaning that they anchored up near the Porticello port as well.

Borner continued: "There was a light and we saw that the ship was aside and then we saw a triangle. So I think she went back down," before adding that he had noticed the superyacht vanish just before seeing a flare in the water with rising smoke.

There was a life raft out at sea with 15 people inside, including a one-year-old baby, as Borner thought quickly to inform the coastguard, who came out to guide the raft to safety.

Following the capsizing, Borner said that four people were injured, while three needed medical treatment .

The mum of the rescued one-year-old, Charlotte Golunski, says flooding in the yacht woke her up, with thunder and lightning leaving the yacht rocking according to her and her partner, James Emslie.

Young Sophia was clutched onto as Charlotte revealed her side of things to la Repubblica: “I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning.

“It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open."

James wasn't able to find his family after initially being swept away at sea.

Seven tourists and crew didn't make it on the lifeboat, with one body, Chef Ricardo Thomas found among the wreckage.

Most of the missing people are passengers, as charterers said there were 12 guests and 10 crew sailing at the time.

Topics:  Health , News , Travel , Weather , World News , Bayesian yacht

Joshua Nair is a journalist at LADbible. Born in Malaysia and raised in Dubai, he has always been interested in writing about a range of subjects, from sports to trending pop culture news. After graduating from Oxford Brookes University with a BA in Media, Journalism and Publishing, he got a job freelance writing for SPORTbible while working in marketing before landing a full-time role at LADbible. Unfortunately, he's unhealthily obsessed with Manchester United, which takes its toll on his mental and physical health. Daily.

@ joshnair10

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Superyacht sinks latest: Investigators looking into possible manslaughter - Italian media; family of billionaire releases statement

Divers have recovered the body of the final missing person after a superyacht sank off the Sicily coast. The family of Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah have released a statement - with tributes also pouring in for the pair.

Friday 23 August 2024 19:20, UK

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• Seven bodies have been recovered after searching the superyacht wreckage off Sicily for five days
• Prosecutors investigating shipwreck and manslaughter - reports
• Divers discover body of final missing person
• 'Unspeakable grief': Lynch family releases statement
• Hannah Lynch's sister pays tribute to 'my little angel'
• Friend pays tribute to 'brilliant mind' Mike Lynch
• Explained: Inside the superyacht | What challenges have faced divers?
• Eyewitness:  Sombre scenes greet rescue teams as final body is brought ashore
• Live reporting by Mark Wyatt

The final body has now been retrieved from the wreckage of the Bayesian, leaving every person accounted for that was on the ship at the time of its foundering.

The captain of the yacht, 51-year-old James Cutfield, has reportedly already been questioned by Italian authorities for two hours.

He managed to survive the sinking along with 14 other passengers and crew members - including Mike Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares.

Mr Cutfield previously told Italian media "we didn't see it coming" when asked about the extreme weather that sunk the vessel.

His brother Mark said he was a "well respected" mariner who had captained luxury yachts for eight years and previously worked for a Turkish billionaire.

He told the New Zealand Herald he'd been involved in building yachts for 30 years and also raced dinghies competitively in his youth.

A maritime investigator says it is "unfair" to start blaming the crew of the Bayesian for its sinking.

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns a firm which makes and sells vessels like Mike Lynch's sunken superyacht, told Sky News they "are absolutely safe", suggesting human error was behind the boat going down.

He said the "event" that capsized the British-flagged luxury yacht Bayesian off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, on Monday "could have been managed with an average amount of attention".

No official cause has been given for why the boat sank and James Wilkes, a marine investigator, says it's "premature" to start casting blame around before the facts are established.

"It's not uncommon to blame seafarers and the crew when  a vessel has suffered a casualty of this magnitude," he tells Sky News.

"There were a lot of people who are understandably upset about this incident. And of course, the builders of this vessel potentially have their reputations on the line, their brand on the line. 

"You can imagine why they would be so forceful in their, assertions and speculation at the moment. 

"But no, I don't think it's fair right now to jump to the conclusion that the crew must have done something wrong, because we simply do not know that as a matter of fact."

He added: "None of us were there at the time when it happened, it was only those 15 survivors on board who can tell us what happened.

" They were undoubtedly doing what they possibly could to keep that ship and the passengers safe. 

"So, I think at the moment we should wait to find out what the statements of the witnesses are, and then we can draw conclusions from that point forward. 

"It is definitely premature to start casting blame and spreading  aspersions around like that."

Hannah Lynch's older sister, Esme Lynch, has paid tribute to her late sibling after her body was recovered from the wreckage of the Bayesian.

The 18-year-old, who was due to start studying English at Oxford University next month, was the last person rescue divers were searching for in the wreckage.

Esme's statement says: "Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me.

"Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice. No matter what, she brought boundless love to me. 

"She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me. 

"And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals. 

"She is my little angel, my star."

A maritime investigator says the authorities looking into the sinking of the Bayesian will need to deal with the situation "diplomatically".

It comes as Italian media report that prosecutors are investigating shipwreck and manslaughter. Sky News understands that this line of investigation is standard procedure in complex cases such as these. 

James Wilkes told Sky News investigators were "accustomed" to managing these kinds of probes that see two countries - in this case the UK and Italy - involved.

"The Italian officials are known as the coastal state because it was in the waters of Italy that the yacht sank," he says.

"We have the British officials from the MAIB (Marine Accident Investigation Branch) down there because they are what's known as the flag state. 

"The vessel was registered in the UK and many of the passengers on board were British. And so they are acting as the flag state. 

"There will be a level of cooperation, privacy at the moment will remain, I would anticipate, with the coastal state, with Italy, with their coast guard, with their fire and rescue teams. 

"And obviously, you have a local prosecutor in Sicily, who has opened a file on this and that, conducting their own investigations, as well. So there has to be some cooperation. 

"But you have to deal with these things diplomatically. You can't push for your own position or for your own access without considering that other people will want access and need access for their own reports and official reports in due course. So it is a matter of diplomacy."

Mr Wilkes added that he thought nobody would be putting a timescale on the investigation, with the priority up until now being focused on recovering the bodies.

" The emotional tension and urgency will have abated," he adds.

"Now the investigators will get on methodically with the investigation. I guess it will probably take a couple of months before they're in a position to provide an initial report."

The search operation to recover the bodies of those who died on board the Bayesian has been plagued with difficulties.

But, after five days of searching, all the people who were unaccounted for following the ship's foundering on Monday morning have now been located and recovered.

Conditions underwater have been described as "complex" and "prohibitive" for the divers, who have been called in from across Italy to help with the operation.

Here, we look at some of the factors that have made this week so difficult for divers.

Depth of the wreckage

The British-flagged superyacht is still largely intact on the seabed, but the 50m depth to which it sank makes it difficult to access.

The depth is far deeper than most recreational divers are qualified to reach and requires special precautions.

This means divers can only spend around 12 minutes under the water at a time - with a maximum of 10 minutes of actual search time.

This is in part to help avoid decompression sickness - also known as the "bends" - which can occur when divers stay underwater for long periods and ascend too quickly.

"The person sitting on the sofa at home wouldn't understand any of these kinds of complexities," Sophie Rennie, a national diving officer, told Sky News.

"But divers cannot put themselves into the dangers of getting decompression illness. So that's why it's only a 10-minute dive from start to finish."

Ms Rennie said divers would swap in and out throughout the day, taking part in a maximum of two dives each day.

Visibility and entering the yacht

Getting down to the wreckage was only the beginning of the difficulties posed to divers, who have been working in near pitch-black conditions on the seabed.

Not only that, but finding entry points into the vessel, which is currently lying on its right side, have been hard. 

Upon entry, they've then been met with floating debris. The command bridge was full of electrical cables when searched earlier in the week.

Ms Rennie said: "The visibility will be at best a few centimetres. And that's not including all the things that are floating around in the water once they get inside the wreck.

"Things like furniture moving around, as well as oils and cooking stuffs and foodstuffs that will have been onboard when the yacht sank."

Mental health support

Not only has the week been taxing physically for those diving to the Bayesian, but it will also take its toll mentally.

"We've talked about debris and we've talked about the complex layout, but the lasting impacts on everybody involved is going to be on the mental health and we hope that the support is going to be there," says Matthew Schanck, chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council.

"And I'm sure it will be for the emergency responders and also for the people who have survived and what has obviously been a very, very traumatic experience."

Italian media are reporting that prosecutors are investigating shipwreck and manslaughter. 

Sky News understands that this line of investigation is standard procedure in complex cases such as these. 

Italian authorities are expected to reveal further information about their investigation tomorrow in a news conference.

 A statement from Oxford University says it is "greatly saddened" by the death of Hannah Lynch.

The 18-year-old was enrolled to study English at the prestigious university this year after receiving her A-Level results earlier this month.

The statement reads: "The University is greatly saddened by the tragic death of Hannah Lynch, who held a confirmed place to study English at Trinity College from this autumn. 

"Trinity and the English Faculty had been looking forward to welcoming Hannah to the University, and we offer our deepest sympathies to her family and friends."

Yesterday, we brought you an interview with a neighbour of the Lynch family, Ruth Leigh.

She lived next door to Mike Lynch, his wife Angela, and their two children for 15 years and told Sky News the family were "well thought of, kind, generous, hospitable people".

In a new interview with Times Radio, Mrs Leigh says that Mike Lynch would always remember the names of her family and ask after them whenever they saw each other. 

"He didn't have to do that," she says. "He's a wealthy, influential man. Top of the tree.

"But he was always incredibly humble, full of integrity, very friendly and certainly a really valued member of our community."

Camper and Nicholsons, the company responsible for managing the Bayesian, has sent its "deepest sympathies" to the loved ones of those that died during its sinking.

A statement from the company confirmed the recovery of the six people missing following the boat's foundering on Monday morning and thanked those involved in search and recovery work.

"Those on board were valued colleagues, friends, and clients," the statement says.

"Our deepest sympathies are with their loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. 

"Our focus remains on fully cooperating with the authorities and offering unwavering support to the families affected by this tragic loss."

It added this would be the last public statement from the company on these events as it allows investigators "to understand with better clarity what happened that tragic night".

By Ashna Hurynag , news correspondent

Our first indication that something unusual was happening came just before one this afternoon.

For five days, the search site has always had the presence of at least one vessel there at all times during the day.

So when all five of the search vessels began making their way back to the marina flanking the cream and red search and rescue boat with its crew and divers on board - it was clear they'd found the final body.

A guard of honour of sorts began to assemble on the harbourside - coastguard members, search and rescue squad and police officers stood shoulder to shoulder as the vessel pulled in.

What followed was a process we've become accustomed to seeing over the past 24 hours. 

Two divers at the back of the boat secure the body bag between them and it's lifted into the arms of the search and rescue officials waiting on the dock.

A crowd watching on opposite watch in silence - the realisation of what's happening, dawning on them.

Carefully, the body is loaded into the back of a waiting ambulance - people surround it to shield it from view as much as possible.

The ambulance doors shut, the sirens are turned on and as we have seen five times before - it speeds off to the mortuary escorted by two police cars.

The crew who have spent days searching watch on in silence. 

Their job is over, finally the families of the missing that had been in limbo and trying to comprehend the unknown - can now have some closure.

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Bayesian yacht disaster: how specialist search and rescue teams work underwater

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Lecturer in Forensic Anthropology and Biology, Keele University

Disclosure statement

Jamie Pringle receives funding from the HLF, the Nuffield Foundation, Royal Society, NERC, EPSRC and EU Horizon2020. He is affiliated with the Geological Society of London. Jamie works for Keele University.

Kristopher Wisniewski is affiliated with the Geological Society of London.

Vivienne Heaton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Keele University provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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Search and rescue for missing persons is always challenging for the specialist recovery teams involved, regardless of the environment they’re working in.

But the teams looking for the missing aboard the Bayesian yacht which sank off the coast of Sicily leaving several people dead, have faced particularly challenging conditions. Even though the boat lies in relatively shallow water of 50 metres, underwater operations are affected by numerous factors which make them the most complex of search and rescue efforts.

Best practice shows that searches should be coordinated, with areas that are being searched expanding outwards from the last known location. This makes the most efficent use of available teams and equipment, which are selected depending on targets and environments being searched, while updating and refining the operation as new information becomes available.

Land-based searches may be more straightforward as the recovery team can usually walk or move about more easily. Searching in water is more challenging, whether in rivers, lakes or the open ocean.

Inland waterway searches , such as rivers, canals and lakes are more constrained in their extent than the sea and open ocean due to surface area and depth.

Searchers use a variety of techniques, such as trained victim recovery search dogs, sonar to reflect sound waves from target objects, water penetrating radar that can detect objects below sediment, and remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs). The combination of techniques used are dependent on the environment and the scenario.

Marine searches, by contrast, can be more difficult as they usually cover significantly larger areas both spatially and in terms of water depth. Additional issues to consider include salinity, temperature and strong currents, and the fact that there may be a rugged seabed which could hamper divers, sonar and ROVs.

Drowning was the third leading cause of “unintentional injury” death worldwide, claiming around 360,000 victims in 2021, and revealing a globally increasing trend in cause of death.

And for every drowned person recovered, there are many others who remain missing. Recent Danish research showed that only 45% of missing individuals in water are successfully found and recovered within 12 months of their disappearance.

Marine searches cover a wide range of disasters, from tsunami victims, such as the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 , to fishermen on sinking trawlers and migrants on unseaworthy boats . Then there are issues related to mechanical difficulties, such as the Argentinian San Juan submarine in 2017 , and plane crashes such as the still-missing Maylasian Airlines MH370 plane in 2013 .

Finally, there are searches for missing divers or underwater craft like the Titan submersible which imploded during a dive to the Atlantic wreck site of the Titanic in 2023.

Diver caution

The search for the missing in the sunken Bayesian yacht – the cause of which is currently uncertain – should have been relatively straightforward. Helicopters, likely equipped with thermal imaging equipment, and rescue boats were rapidly deployed to look for survivors, although the body of chef Recaldo Thomas was found floating on the surface.

Five victims have been recovered from inside the yacht that was discovered close to the shore in comparatively shallow water (50m) and where there was good local knowledge of ocean currents. If they had been washed out to sea, ocean currents, the decomposition process, scavenging activity and other factors could all have made this forensic search even more problematic.

However, it is challenging for divers to work at depths of 40 metres or more. One reason is the risk of nitrogen narcosis . The deeper divers go, the higher the pressure gets.

At higher pressure, the gases divers breathe in from their tanks cause symptoms such as drowsiness and impaired judgement, which is an obvious danger underwater. Decompression sickness – when divers ascend too rapidly, and often known as “the bends”, is another issue. This means divers can only spend ten minutes on the wreck itself.

In the case of the Bayesian, underwater ROVs were deployed, likely with live audio, lighting rigs and sonar equipment to assist with navigation and location, and minimise the risk to divers in this difficult environment. The 56m yacht was rotated onto its side, had 1.3 cm thick glass windows that were hard to break, and was full of debris that made it difficult to retrieve the missing people.

The chances of finding the missing alive declined rapidly the longer the underwater search went on. However, in rare cases, people have been found clinging onto debris or flotation devices, or within air pockets in sunken vessels after several days.

Harrison Okene, a fisherman on a trawler that sank 19 miles off the Nigerian coast in 30 metres of water in 2013, was found by divers still alive after 60 hours being trapped in an air pocket in the upturned boat. He later published a book on his rare survival story. There are also several famous maritime stories of people rescued from rafts after being adrift at sea for weeks and even months.

While tragically the initial search and rescue operation turned into a recovery mission, the rapid deployment of search teams, including specialist divers, helicopters, rescue boats and ROVs resulted in a rapid “successful” operation.

This is of paramount importance when it comes to identifying the victims and determining the cause of death. Sadly this is not always the case in such rescue operations, such as undocumented migrants lost at sea .

The lack of funding to recover sunken vessels in relatively shallow waters, which would allow the cause of their sinking to be diagnosed, would help prevent future vessel sinkings and the tragic loss of life that all too often goes with it.

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Mike Lynch yacht latest: Divers smash through window into hull with crucial hours ahead in Bayesian search

LIVE – Updated at 07:57

Rescue teams have managed to smash through a glass window and enter the hull of the Bayesian as crucial hours are ahead in the search for survivors inside the superyacht.

The firefighter divers were able to reach the common areas of the vessel through the gap, Giornale Di Sicilia reported on Tuesday – however, they are yet to make it to the cabins, which is still set to take a while as entrances may be blocked.

It comes as an engineer warned the next 24 hours are “critical” in the search for the six people who went missing after the boat sank in a severe storm in the early hours of Monday . One man has so far been confirmed dead, Recaldo Thomas, while a further 15 people survived the incident.

Nick Sloane, who worked on the Costa Concordia salvage operation in 2012, told Sky News : “They’ve got a very small window of time to try to find people stuck inside with hopefully an air pocket, and they could be rescued. You’ve got a maximum of two to three days to try to get someone out.”

The missing tourists are billionaire Mike Lynch, who owns the yacht; his daughter, Hannah Lynch; Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Mr Lynch had reportedly invited his lawyers and friends to celebrate a recent legal victory that cleared him of fraud accusations in the US.

Have you been affected by this story? Email [email protected]

• Rescue teams enter Bayesian’s hull by smashing through glass window, local media report
• Pictured: Chef Ricardo Thomas with ‘smile that lit up the room’ who died in yacht tragedy
• Two more survivors named and pictured
• Mother of survivor says she is ‘beyond relieved’ her daughter is safe
• Another name of surviving crew member confirmed by Italian coastguard
• Captain speaks for first time from hospital bed with just five words

Seven key unanswered questions around the sinking of the Bayesian

With the Bayesian lying on her side 50 metres underneath the now gentle waters of the Mediterranean, mystery still surrounds how the 56-metre superyacht, sank in the typhoon off the port of Porticello.

Remotely controlled underwater vehicles and cave divers are looking to raise the yacht, which experts will examine in the coming days.

It will take weeks for Ambrogio Cartosio, the chief prosecutor of Termini Imerese, and his team to establish whether the sinking of the Bayesian was down to human error, an unpredictable weather event or whether anyone is liable.

They have said they will interview the survivors in the coming days – some of whom were pictured leaving the Domina Zagarella hotel in Santa Flavia, which has become the headquarters for survivors, police and rescuers.

My colleague Barney Davis takes a look at some of the key unanswered questions in this report:

The key unanswered questions around the tragic sinking of the Bayesian

Search to resume for remaining person missing after luxury yacht disaster

The search will resume for the remaining person missing after a luxury yacht sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily following the discovery of five bodies inside the wreck, reports Ellie Ng .

Salvatore Cocina, the head of Sicily’s civil protection agency, confirmed that of the five bodies found on Wednesday, only four had been recovered, and the whereabouts of the missing sixth person remain unknown.

Identities of the recovered bodies have not been confirmed by authorities, despite local and international media reporting some had been identified. Body bags were seen being taken to the port of Porticello on Wednesday afternoon, with the process of bringing the fifth body to shore being described by Mr Cocina as “ongoing”.

He said searches will resume on Thursday morning, and that there will be an investigation in due course, but the priority is finding the missing.

Mike Lynch yacht sinking latest: Fifth body found inside Bayesian sunken off Sicily

British tourist held baby above waves after yacht sank, Italian doctor says

An Italian doctor at the hospital where British tourist Charlotte Emsley and her one-year-old daughter were taken said the mother held her baby above the waves after the yacht sank.

Dr Domenico Cipolla, of Di Cristina Children’s Hospital in Palermo, told the PA news agency: “The child and the mother went to the hotel near Porticello on Tuesday, they are both in a good condition.

“Obviously the mother and the husband were so shaken by what has happened, it was a tragedy for them.

“She told me that two minutes after falling asleep with her baby they were in the water, she did not understand how this happened, it went dark. Her partner was not with her, he was in another room.

“She held the child high in her arms above the waves, for a few seconds the baby was in the water but she saved her.”

Mapped: Where Bayesian sank off coast of Sicily as search enters fourth day

Why did the superyacht bayesian sink.

Hatches and doors left open overnight on the superyacht Bayesian may have caused it to sink in Italy, a sailing expert has said.

Sam Jefferson, editor of magazine Sailing Today, believes the vessel’s huge mast is also likely to have contributed to the deadly event.

It is believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout.

Weather records show temperatures reached around 33C the day before the sinking, which may have led to the vessel’s occupants wanting air to flow through while they slept.

Mr Jefferson told the PA news agency: “I would have said that the boat got hit very hard by the wind, it was pinned over on its side.

“I imagine all the doors were open because it was hot, so there were enough hatches and doors open that it filled with water very quickly and sank like that.

“The reason it got pinned over so hard was because the mast is huge. It acted almost like a sail. (It) pushed the boat hard over on its side. (The boat) filled with water before it could right.

“This is all speculation, but that’s the only logical explanation.”

Mr Jefferson added that such incidents are “incredibly rare”, describing the chances of a yacht being hit by a waterspout as “minuscule”.

The yacht’s aluminium mast measures 72 metres, making it one of the largest in the world among sailing yachts.

Karsten Borner, the captain of another yacht which was near Bayesian, told news agency Reuters he witnessed the ship go “flat on the water, and then down”.

Salvo Cocina, of Sicily’s civil protection agency, said: “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Watch: Moment Bayesian yacht engulfed by storm

Bayesian was victim of ‘high impact’ weather-related incident, says expert.

The Bayesian was the victim of a “high impact” weather-related incident, Matthew Schanck, chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, a UK-based non-profit organisation that trains sea rescuers, has said.

"If it was a water spout, which it appears to be, it's what I would class as like a black swan event," he told Reuters, meaning a rare and unpredictable phenomenon.

Survivors recuperate at hotel complex in Porticello

Survivors have been recuperating at a hotel complex in Porticello.

Authorities have been gathering witness statements from them there.

The curious life of Mike Lynch – who believed dogs could read our minds

Just under 10 weeks ago, 59-year-old Mike Lynch was on trial in San Francisco on 17 charges of fraud . He was almost guaranteed to receive a 25-year sentence.

He was terrified that he would die in a US prison, not because he was guilty – he had spent £30m on legal fees arguing his innocence – but because it’s almost unheard of in the US to win a case against the US Justice Department. His chances of winning were put at 0.5 per cent. However, after 13 years of putting together detailed evidence to support his plea, he was acquitted and it felt like a miracle.

Once back in the UK, Lynch set about celebrating what he called his second life. Through tears, he told one interviewer how even the traffic in London seemed magical. “I’m just thinking this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” he said.

Jonathan Margolis writes:

Mike Lynch: The missing tech tycoon who believed dogs could read our minds

Full story: Five bodies found inside wreck of sunken superyacht Bayesian off coast of Sicily

Five bodies have been discovered inside the wreck of the luxury superyacht Bayesian after it sank in a severe storm off the coast of Sicily.

Only four of the five bodies found on Wednesday have so far been recovered, the head of Sicily’s civil protection agency Salvatore Cocina said on Wednesday evening, while the whereabouts of the sixth missing person remain unknown.

British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the six people unaccounted for after his vessel sank at around 5am on Monday near the Sicilian capital of Palermo, having been caught in a violent tornado , known as a waterspout.

Read the full story here:

Five bodies found inside wreck of sunken superyacht Bayesian off coast of Sicily

In pictures: Four bodies recovered from Bayesian superyacht are brought ashore

Bayesian’s captain described as ‘very good sailor and well respected'.

The Bayesian's captain, James Cutfield, is a “very good sailor” and “very well respected” in the Mediterranean, his brother Mark has told The New Zealand Herald.

The 51-year-old New Zealander survived the shipwreck.

Captain of yacht who helped rescue 15 survivors of Bayesian disaster tells of ordeal

The captain of a yacht who helped to rescue 15 people from the stricken Bayesian superyacht has described how his crew spotted the distress flare set off from a life raft.

Karsten Borner said his vessel, the Sir Robert BP, was about 150 to 200 metres from the Bayesian when the "extreme" weather hit.

He said his boat was using its engine to stay in position and the crew noticed the Bayesian had disappeared before a passenger on his yacht spotted the flare.

Mr Borner said they dispatched their tender which found the life raft and brought the occupants back to his yacht.

He told Sky News : "We couldn't see them anymore and they disappeared from the radar, we were busy keeping our own ship sailing. We couldn't see the ship again so we were aware something was very wrong."

He said it was only when the tender set out that they found the life raft.

He said: "It turned out to be the life raft, a 12-person life raft with 15 people inside including one baby. They stepped over to our tender and we brought them back to our ship. There we took good care of them, gave them dry clothes, towels, blankets, tea and coffee and so on and took care of them."

Mr Borner said he helped the coastguard launch its search and rescue mission for the other occupants of the Bayesian.

He added that the captain of the Bayesian told him the yacht had sunk in two minutes but he had since seen a video which showed it go down in 60 seconds.

He said: "The engineer and captain had no explanation why she sank so quickly. My personal opinion is it shouldn't tip like this, it goes against any logic."

He also questioned the safety of the Bayesian's 75-metre mast and added: "I think it's not safe to build the masts."

Describing the strength of the storm and sea spouts that hit his yacht and the Bayesian, he said: "They were very close and we were hit very hard, very strong and they had the same. It was extreme, it was extremely strong."

Who are the people missing?

Five bodies have been found in the search for six people missing after the sinking of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily.

The island’s civil protection agency confirmed on Wednesday that four out of the five bodies have been recovered and a sixth person remains unaccounted for.

It comes after the body of a chef on the superyacht, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered on Monday.

Here is detailed what we know of those who were on board:

Bayesian yacht sinking: Who are the people missing?

Identities of recovered bodies not yet confirmed by authorities

Identities of the recovered bodies have not been confirmed by authorities, despite local and international media reporting some had been identified.

Technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the people unaccounted for after the yacht, named Bayesian, sank at around 5am on Monday.

Dozens of emergency services personnel lined port when bodies taken to shore

Dozens of personnel from the Italian Coastguard and local fire service lined the port when the bodies were being taken to shore.

Ambulances were seen taking them away, escorted by police cars.

Hundreds of locals gathered to watch, as church bells were heard ringing out.

Searches finish for day, with one person still missing, confirms civil protection agency

The head of Sicily's civil protection agency Salvatore Cocina has told the PA news agency that searches have finished for the day and will resume on Thursday.

He confirmed that five bodies have been found, but only four recovered.

One person remains missing, Mr Cocina said.

In pictures: Body bag brought ashore by divers after Bayesian tragedy

Remotely controlled underwater vehicles and cave divers are looking to raise the yacht , which experts will examine in the coming days. For now, the focus is on finding the people missing since the yacht went down in the early hours of Monday 19 August.

My colleague Barney Davis reports:

Five bodies now found on sunken luxury yacht off coast of Sicily

Five bodies have been now found inside the wreck of the luxury yacht that sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily.

Three body bags were seen being taken to the port of Porticello on Wednesday afternoon following the sinking of the yacht at around 5am on Monday.

The head of Sicily's civil protection agency Salvatore Cocina said that four bodies had been recovered and efforts to bring a fifth to shore were "ongoing".

He said there will be an investigation in due course, but the priority was to find those who are still missing.

As the three body bags were taken back to the port of Porticello, dozens of emergency services staff were waiting, and one was seen being put in the back of an ambulance.

Coastguard questions survivors including Bayesian captain

The coastguard has been questioning survivors, including the captain of the Bayesian, and passengers on the yacht that was moored next to it who witnessed the ship going down, judicial sources said.

No one is under investigation at the moment, sources added.

Besides the diving team, the coastguard has deployed a remotely operated vehicle to scan the seabed and take underwater pictures and videos that it said may provide “useful and timely elements” for prosecutors looking into the disaster.

Experts have been at a loss to explain how a large luxury vessel, presumed to have top-class fittings and safety features, could have sunk within minutes, as recounted by witnesses. The yacht anchored next to it was unharmed by the storm.

Three body bags seen being taken to Porticello port

Three body bags were seen being taken to the port of Porticello on Wednesday afternoon following the sinking of the yacht.

The three bodies brought ashore were taken to nearby hospitals for formal identification, while the fourth corpse was being taken to land as evening set in.

The identities of the victims were not immediately given by the authorities.

The head of Sicily's civil protection agency Salvatore Cocina confirmed two bodies had initially been found on the Bayesian, followed by two more later in the afternoon.

Watch live: Search resumes after four bodies found inside Mike Lynch’s sunken yacht

Watch a live view of a port in Palermo , Italy , on Wednesday (21 August) as a search operation resumes after the Bayesian superyacht sank off the coast of the Sicilian city:

Live: Search resumes after four bodies found inside Mike Lynch’s sunken yacht

Tributes paid to ‘incredibly talented’ chef who died on sunken superyacht in Sicily

Tributes have been paid to a chef whose body was recovered after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily , as rescuers fear six people are still trapped inside the wreck.

Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working on the Bayesian superyacht, was found by the Italian coastguard near the sunken boat.

A friend of Mr Thomas, who asked to remain anonymous, said the yachting community has been saddened by his death.

Read the full article here:

Tributes paid to ‘incredibly talented’ chef who died on sunken superyacht

Ambulance leaves the harbour as search continues

An ambulance ahs been pictured leaving the harbour after a body bag was brought ashore at Porticello by rescue workers.

Identities of bodies remain unknown

The identities of the four bodies that have been found inside the Bayesian yacht have not yet been identified, with two brought in body bags to shore.

One of the bodies belonged to a heavily built man, a source close to rescue operations said, while the second was that of a woman, Italian news agency Adnkronos said.

Two more bodies found inside yacht

Two further bodies have been found in a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday.

The boat, owned by the wife of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, was carrying 22 passengers and crew and was anchored off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, when it capsized during a fierce, pre-dawn storm on Monday.

Two corpses were brought ashore from the wreck earlier on Wednesday.

Yacht's captain questioned for more than two hours

The yacht’s captain was reportedly questioned for more than two hours by investigators who are looking into the shipwreck.

James Cutfield, 51, who is from New Zealand, was questioned on Tuesday evening to help provide technical details and for prosecutors to have a clearer understanding of the boat’s final moments.

His brother Mark earlier told the New Zealand Herald he was a “very good sailor” and “very well respected” in the Mediterranean.

Body bag brought ashore as search efforts continue

A body bag has been brought ashore after emergency services confirmed that two bodies had been discovered in the wreck of the superyacht Bayesian.

Who are the divers searching for?

Specialist divers have been searching for six people who went missing when the Bayesian yacht sunk in the Mediterranean Sea.

They include British technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who owned the boat, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, as well as Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley Bank International and his wife Judye Bloomer and Clifford Chance partner Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo.

Body appears to have been pulled from the water

A body appeared to be pulled from the water near the site of the sunken Bayesian yacht on Wednesday afternoon.

A green body bag was taken back to the port of Porticello where dozens of emergency services staff were waiting.

Latest pictures: Several boats travel to scene as bodies found

Bodies reportedly found behind mattresses.

According to reports in Italian media, the two bodies were found inside the boat behind two mattresses.

They are the second and third victims to be found, after chef Recaldo Thomas was recovered from the water on Monday.

Several boats leave Porticello to go to sinking site

Several boats have left the port of Porticello to go to the site of the sinking.

They left the port at the same time shortly before 3.30pm on Wednesday.

Source says one of the two bodies is that of a ‘heavily built man’

Rescue teams have not confirmed the identities of the drowned people, who were recovered after a three-day search operation involving specialist divers.

A source has said that one of the bodies was that of a “heavily built man”.

Six passengers had been missing after the boat capsized, including British billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer ; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Survivors reportedly turn down counselling

Survivors of the Bayesian reportedly have turned down psychological support.

Salvo Cocina, president of the Civil Protection Agency in Sicily, told MailOnline: “We wanted to make sure that everyone was offered every kind of help they might need, but no-one from the passengers or the crew accepted counselling.”

He added that they still hoped the six people are alive, saying:“The operation is not complete – we don’t differentiate between rescue and recovery in these circumstances, because the people are still in the boat.

“The divers have not yet reached the cabins, so we have not yet given up hope that there may be air pockets in their keeping them alive.”

Breaking: Two bodies found inside Bayesian yacht

Divers scouring the wreck of the luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily have found the bodies of two of the six passengers who were missing, a source close to the matter said.

Divers with head torches seen entering the water

Divers from the local fire service were seen entering the water with torches attached to their headgear at the site of the shipwreck on Wednesday afternoon.

A police boat and divers were also seen entering the water.

The boats spent a short time at the scene before heading back to the nearby port.

A helicopter hovered overhead.

CCTV footage shows the moment missing tycoon Mike Lynch’s Bayesian yacht is engulfed by storm

CCTV footage has shown the moment a storm off the coast of Sicily engulfed the Bayesian luxury yacht carrying 22 people.

The superyacht was moored around half-a-mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank at around 5am local time on Monday as the area was hit by a storm.

The tall mast of the craft can be seen in the black-and-white footage, as rain appears to be lashing down in the foreground.

CCTV footage shows the moment Bayesian yacht is engulfed by storm

Who was on board the Bayesian yacht and who is still missing?

Italian authorities fear British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and five others he was holidaying with are trapped inside his yacht which sank in a tornado .

As the desperate search for the missing continues in Sicily for a second day, Vincenzo Zagarola of the Italian Coastguard said the working theory of officials is that they were inside. He said search and rescue efforts are yet to deliver any results.

The British-flagged vessel named Bayesian was carrying 12 passengers and 10 members of crew when it sank at around 5am local time on Monday as the area was hit by a storm.

Who was on board the Bayesian yacht and who is still missing

Helicopter drafted in to help with search

A helicopter had been drafted in to help the search effort, as divers from the local fire service were seen entering the water with torches attached to their headgear.

A police boat and divers were also seen entering the water on Wednesday afternoon.

Fire crews from the Vigili del Fuoco said they have been accessing the vessel through natural entrances, without making openings.

Industry experts ‘at a loss’ to explain sudden sinking

Experts have been at a loss to explain how a large luxury vessel, presumed to have top-class fittings and safety features, could have sunk within minutes, as recounted by witnesses. Another yacht anchored next to it was unharmed by the tempest.

The Bayesian, which was owned by Lynch’s wife, was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008 and last refitted in 2020. It had the world’s tallest aluminium mast, measuring 72 metres, according to its makers.

Its captain James Cutfield, a 51-year-old New Zealander who survived the shipwreck, was a “very good sailor” and “very well respected” in the Mediterranean, his brother Mark told The New Zealand Herald.

Efforts to enter yacht have been hampered by ‘very confined’ spaces

Efforts to locate the missing people have been hampered by “very confined” spaces inside the wreck, fire department spokesman Luca Cari has said.

The Italian coast guard said it was using a remotely operated vehicle to inspect the seabed and take underwater pictures.

An upgraded underwater drone has also been deployed at the site of the wreckage.

Floorplan of sunken yacht shows guest cabins

A floorplan of the sunken Bayesian yacht shows that a number of guest cabins were situated in the middle of the boar, between the technical area and crew area.

Specialist divers are now trying to access the area, to explore whether the six missing tourists became trapped inside.

How sailors can use air pockets to survive in capsized boats for days

Divers find 5 bodies in Sicilian superyacht tragedy, 1 still missing

by The Associated Press

PORTICELLO, Sicily (AP) — Divers searching the wreck of a superyacht that sank off Sicily found the bodies of five passengers Wednesday and searched for one more as questions intensified about why the vessel sank so quickly when a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.

Rescue crews unloaded three body bags from rescue vessels that pulled into port at Porticello. Salvatore Cocina, head of the Sicily civil protection agency, said two other bodies had also been found in the wreckage for a total of five.

The discovery made clear the operation to search the hull on the seabed 50 meters (164 feet) underwater had quickly turned into a recovery one, not a rescue, given the amount of time that had passed and that no signs of life had emerged over three days of searching, maritime experts said.

The Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged yacht, went down in a storm early Monday as it was moored about a kilometer (a half-mile) offshore. Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.

Fifteen people escaped in a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby sailboat. One body was recovered Monday — that of the ship’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, of Antigua.

Thomas was born in Canada, according to his cousin David Isaac, but would visit his parents’ homeland of Antigua as a child, moving permanently to the tiny eastern Caribbean island in his early 20s. Italian officials previously listed Antigua as the nationality of someone on board.

The fate of six missing passengers had driven the search effort, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter and associates who had successfully defended him in a recent U.S. federal fraud trial.

Lynch’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Meanwhile, investigators from the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office were acquiring evidence for their criminal investigation, which they opened immediately after the tragedy even though no formal suspects have been publicly identified.

Questions abound about what caused the superyacht, built in 2008 by Italian shipyard Perini Navi, to sink so quickly, when the nearby Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat was largely spared and managed to rescue the survivors.

Was it merely the case of a freak waterspout that knocked the ship to its side and allowed water to pour in through open hatches? What was the position of the keel, which on a large sailboat such as the Bayesian might have been retractable, to allow it to enter shallower ports?

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as to whether it had a lifting keel and whether it might have been up,” said Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a fellow of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects and the editor of the Journal of Sailing Technology. “But if it had, then that would reduce the amount of stability that the vessel had, and therefore made it easier for it to roll over on its side,” he said in an interview.

The captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat, which came to the Bayesian’s rescue, said his craft had sustained minimal damage — the frame of a sun awning broke — even with winds that he estimated reached 12 on the Beaufort wind scale, which is the highest, hurricane-strength force on the scale.

He said he had remained anchored with his engines running to try to maintain the ship’s position as the storm, which was forecast, rolled in.

“Another possibility is to heave anchor before the storm and to run downwind at open sea,” Karsten Bornersaid in a text message. But he said that might not have been a viable option for the Bayesian, given its trademark 75-meter (246-foot) tall mast.

“If there was a stability problem, caused by the extremely tall mast, it would not have been better at open sea,” he said.

Yachts like the Bayesian are required to have watertight, sub-compartments that are specifically designed to prevent a rapid, catastrophic sinking even when some parts fill with water.

“So for the vessel to sink, especially this fast, you are really looking at taking water on board very quickly, but also in a number of locations along the length of the vessel, which again indicates that it might have been rolled over on its side,” Souppez said.

Italian coast guard and fire rescue divers continued the underwater search in dangerous and time-consuming conditions. Because of the wreck’s depth, which requires special precautions, divers working in tag teams could only spend about 12 minutes at a time searching.

The limited dive time is designed in part to avoid decompression sickness, also known as the “bends,” which can occur when divers stay underwater for long periods and ascend too quickly, allowing nitrogen gas dissolved in the blood to form bubbles.

“The longer you stay, the slower your ascent has to be,” said Simon Rogerson, the editor of SCUBA magazine. He said the tight turnaround time suggests the operation's managers are trying to limit the risks and recovery time after each dive.

“It sounds like they’re operating essentially on no decompression or very tight decompression, or they’re being extremely conservative,” he said.

Additionally, the divers were working in extremely tight spaces, with debris floating around them, limited visibility and oxygen tanks on their backs.

“We are trying to advance in tight spaces, but any single thing slows us down,” said Luca Cari, spokesman for the fire rescue service. “An electric panel could set us back for five hours. These aren’t normal conditions. We’re at the limit of possibility.”

“It’s not a question of entering the cabin to inspect it,” he added. “They’ve arrived at the level of the cabins, but it’s not like you can open the door,” he said.

The Italian coast guard said they had reinforced their dive teams and were using underwater remote-controlled robots, which can stay out for six or seven hours at a time and record the surroundings.

The lack of any signs of life and the recovery of bodies led outside experts to conclude that the search was now a recovery effort and investigation to determine how the tragedy had unfolded.

“I think the fact that there’s been quite a lot of diving presence around the vessel and that they haven’t been able to pick up any signs of life inside the vessel, is, is unfortunately, not a particularly good sign,” said Souppez.

NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

The underwater robots used by rescuers in sunken yacht search

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The search for six people missing since a superyacht was overturned during a violent storm off the coast of Sicily now involves robots .

A cruise on the Mediterranean Sea aboard the 180-foot Bayesian turned deadly when it sank in the early hours of Monday, possibly due to a waterspout .

Of the 22 aboard, 15 were rescued and three bodies have been reportedly recovered. Four are still unaccounted for.

Follow Metro.co.uk’s live blog for the latest updates on the Sicily yacht sinking

The search for the missing has been plagued by challenges. Having sank 165 feet, divers can only stay underwater for about 12 minutes; inside the ship, they face narrow corridors and countless furniture pieces and debris blocking their way.

Italy’s coastguard, Guardia Costiera, revealed yesterday that rescue crews are now using a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV.

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‘Eight GC divers were employed with the help of a remotely controlled vehicle ROV,’ the coastguard said on X.

The robots are usually controlled above the water by using a joystick as if they were a video game, allowing people to explore the sea without, well, going into it.

The coastguard said today the ROV rescuers deployed can go up to 300 metres below sea level – this is just a little under the world record for the deepest scuba dive at 332.35 metres – and zip about for up to seven hours.

Some models can go well beyond 4,500 metres into the ocean, so are often used by search and rescue, the military and even to inspect nuclear power plant tanks .

An ROV generally moves at speeds of a few knots, or about 5km per hour. While models weigh less than 3kg, others easily weigh thousands.

Most submersibles have a camera and lights so can transmit images and video back to the ship – the ROV the coastguard is using even has a pincer, technically known as a manipulator arm

‘The device deployed by the coast guard,’ the coast guard said, ‘aims to provide useful and timely elements to reconstruct the dynamics of the accident’.

The images and video will be sent to prosecutors in Termini Imerese, a city east of where the yacht sank, who are investigating.

An underwater drone is one of a raft of tools that Italian officials are hoping to find the six passengers with.

Those still missing are tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah; Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Christopher Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Mr Lynch was acquitted of fraud in a US trial in June. He had been accused of defrauding HP when he sold his company, Autonomy, to the company for $11billion.

His co-defendant and former vice president of finance, Stephen Chamberlain, died on Monday after being fatally struck by a car while out for a run in Stretham two days before.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .

For more stories like this, check our news page .

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MORE : Last moments of Bayesian yacht as it’s battered by storm before sinking

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Divers find 5 bodies during search of yacht wreckage off Sicily

The Associated Press

Italian firefighter divers bring ashore in a green bag the body of one of the victims of the U.K.-flag vessel Bayesian on Wednesday. The luxury sail yacht was hit by a violent sudden storm and sunk early Monday, while at anchor off the Sicilian village of Porticello near Palermo, in southern Italy. Salvatore Cavalli/AP hide caption

PORTICELLO, Sicily — Divers searching the wreck of a superyacht that sank off Sicily found the bodies of five passengers Wednesday and searched for one more as questions intensified about why the vessel sank so quickly when a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.

Rescue crews unloaded three body bags from rescue vessels that pulled into port at Porticello. Salvatore Cocina, head of the Sicily civil protection agency, said two other bodies had also been found in the wreckage for a total of five.

Who are Mike Lynch and the other people missing after a yacht sank in Sicily?

The discovery made clear the operation to search the hull on the seabed 50 meters (164 feet) underwater had quickly turned into a recovery one, not a rescue, given the amount of time that had passed and that no signs of life had emerged over three days of searching, maritime experts said.

The Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged yacht, went down in a storm early Monday as it was moored about a kilometer (a half-mile) offshore. Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.

Fifteen people escaped in a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby sailboat. One body was recovered Monday — that of the ship’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, of Antigua.

Thomas was born in Canada, according to his cousin David Isaac, but would visit his parents’ homeland of Antigua as a child, moving permanently to the tiny eastern Caribbean island in his early 20s. Italian officials previously listed Antigua as the nationality of someone on board.

The fate of six missing passengers had driven the search effort, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch , his 18-year-old daughter and associates who had successfully defended him in a recent U.S. federal fraud trial.

Lynch’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Emergency services at the scene of the search for a missing boat, in Porticello, southern Italy, on Tuesday. Salvatore Cavalli/AP hide caption

What caused the ship to sink so quickly?

Meanwhile, investigators from the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office were acquiring evidence for their criminal investigation, which they opened immediately after the tragedy even though no formal suspects have been publicly identified.

Questions abound about what caused the superyacht, built in 2008 by Italian shipyard Perini Navi, to sink so quickly, when the nearby Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat was largely spared and managed to rescue the survivors.

Was it merely the case of a freak waterspout that knocked the ship to its side and allowed water to pour in through open hatches? What was the position of the keel, which on a large sailboat such as the Bayesian might have been retractable, to allow it to enter shallower ports?

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as to whether it had a lifting keel and whether it might have been up,” said Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a fellow of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects and the editor of the Journal of Sailing Technology. “But if it had, then that would reduce the amount of stability that the vessel had, and therefore made it easier for it to roll over on its side,” he said in an interview.

The captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat, which came to the Bayesian’s rescue, said his craft had sustained minimal damage — the frame of a sun awning broke — even with winds that he estimated reached 12 on the Beaufort wind scale, which is the highest, hurricane-strength force on the scale.

He said he had remained anchored with his engines running to try to maintain the ship’s position as the storm, which was forecast, rolled in.

Search teams scour waters along Italy’s southwestern shore, where a luxury yacht sank

“Another possibility is to heave anchor before the storm and to run downwind at open sea,” Karsten Bornersaid in a text message. But he said that might not have been a viable option for the Bayesian, given its trademark 75-meter (246-foot) tall mast.

“If there was a stability problem, caused by the extremely tall mast, it would not have been better at open sea,” he said.

Yachts like the Bayesian are required to have watertight, sub-compartments that are specifically designed to prevent a rapid, catastrophic sinking even when some parts fill with water.

“So for the vessel to sink, especially this fast, you are really looking at taking water on board very quickly, but also in a number of locations along the length of the vessel, which again indicates that it might have been rolled over on its side,” Souppez said.

Italian coast guard and fire rescue divers continued the underwater search in dangerous and time-consuming conditions. Because of the wreck’s depth, which requires special precautions, divers working in tag teams could only spend about 12 minutes at a time searching.

The limited dive time is designed in part to avoid decompression sickness, also known as the “bends,” which can occur when divers stay underwater for long periods and ascend too quickly, allowing nitrogen gas dissolved in the blood to form bubbles.

“The longer you stay, the slower your ascent has to be,” said Simon Rogerson, the editor of SCUBA magazine. He said the tight turnaround time suggests the operation's managers are trying to limit the risks and recovery time after each dive.

“It sounds like they’re operating essentially on no decompression or very tight decompression, or they’re being extremely conservative,” he said.

Additionally, the divers were working in extremely tight spaces, with debris floating around them, limited visibility and oxygen tanks on their backs.

Search resumes for British tech magnate and 5 others after yacht sinks off Sicily

“We are trying to advance in tight spaces, but any single thing slows us down,” said Luca Cari, spokesman for the fire rescue service. “An electric panel could set us back for five hours. These aren’t normal conditions. We’re at the limit of possibility.”

“It’s not a question of entering the cabin to inspect it,” he added. “They’ve arrived at the level of the cabins, but it’s not like you can open the door,” he said.

The Italian coast guard said they had reinforced their dive teams and were using underwater remote-controlled robots, which can stay out for six or seven hours at a time and record the surroundings.

The lack of any signs of life and the recovery of bodies led outside experts to conclude that the search was now a recovery effort and investigation to determine how the tragedy had unfolded.

“I think the fact that there’s been quite a lot of diving presence around the vessel and that they haven’t been able to pick up any signs of life inside the vessel, is, is unfortunately, not a particularly good sign,” said Souppez.