The wreckage of a luxury yacht that sank near Sicily’s coast on Monday has reportedly been explored by divers, who have discovered five of the six missing individuals. Among those missing were UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch; his daughter, Hannah Lynch, 18; Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife, Judy; as well as Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance, and his wife, Neda, all of whom were unaccounted for when the ship sank.
The yacht, a 56-meter vessel named Bayesian sailing under the British flag, was carrying 22 people and was anchored close to the coastline near Porticello’s port when it was hit by what was presumed to be a waterspout or tornado. Shorty after the shipwreck, the body of the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, was located.
Salvo Cocina, the director-general of Sicily’s civil protection agency, verified that divers had recovered four bodies, with the fifth body found but not yet brought back to the shore. He expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims on behalf of himself and his colleagues. There is still an unaccounted person, despite previous reports that all six bodies had been discovered.
Fifteen out of the 22 passengers and crew members on board, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, managed to escape into a lifeboat and were saved. Body bags were spotted being transported into the harbour on a fire brigade boat and then lifted onto the quayside.
With speculation that air pockets could have formed as the yacht submerged, the Italian Coastguard has not dismissed the possibility that the remaining missing persons could still be alive. Among the rescued individuals was Sasha Murray, 29, from Co Sligo, who is currently residing with the other survivors in a resort in Santa Flavia, a small town.
The saga of the Sicily yacht mishap: Northern Sligo breathes a sigh of relief as Irish lady survives the Bayesian catastrophe.
The rescue operation has proven challenging, with rescue crews finding it tough to access the yacht, now settled on the floor of the sea off the shoreline, sunk at a depth of 50 metres. Further investigations became hindered once the hull was breached due to the obstruction of furniture and debris.
The complexity of the operation was highlighted by the fire teams, with divers’ underwater stints restricted to 12-minute intervals.
The investigation is ongoing with witnesses and survivors being questioned. James Cutfield, the yacht’s skipper, reportedly underwent a questioning period which extended beyond two hours.
A second investigation, independent of the public prosecutor’s in Termini Imerese town, Sicily, is also underway by the port authority to verify whether the necessary safety precautions were adhered to by the crew. – Agencies
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