Italian Firefighters scuba divers bring ashore in a green bag the body of one of the victims of the UK flag vessel Bayesian, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. The 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. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
PORTICELLO, Sicily (AP) – The Italian coast guard said Thursday the body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch is among those recovered off the coast of Sicily from the wreckage of a superyacht whose builders had called it unsinkable.
One woman remains missing. The bodies of Lynch, who had been celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges with his family and the people who had defended him at trial in the United States, and five others were recovered by rescue crews following Monday’s tragedy.
The Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged yacht, went down in a storm early Monday as it was moored about a kilometer (half a mile) offshore. Civil protection officials said they believe the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.
The chief executive of The Italian Sea Group, which owns the Bayesian’s manufacturer, said superyachts like these are “the safest in the most absolute sense.”
“First of all, because they have very little surface compared to a yacht facing into the wind,” CEO Giovanni Costantino told Sky News on Wednesday. “Second, with the structure, the drift keel, they become unsinkable bodies.”
Investigators are now looking at why the Bayesian sank, killing at least six people. A seventh remains missing.
Fifteen of the 22 people aboard survived, including a mother who reported holding her 1-year-old baby over the waves to save her.
Divers have struggled to find the bodies in the yacht’s hull on the seabed 50 meters (164 feet) underwater.
“We would need a crystal ball to know when we’ll be able to find the next body,” said Luca Cari, spokesperson for the fire rescue service.
“It’s very difficult to move inside the wreckage. Moving just one meter can take up to 24 hours,” Cari said.
