Divers searching the sunken Bayesian sail yacht, which went down off the coast of Sicily during a storm earlier this week, have found the bodies of five of the six missing passengers.
On the afternoon of Wednesday 21st August, media reports from the Italian island of Sicily announced that divers had found the bodies of five passengers inside the sunken vessel.
Though they are yet to be formally identified by the authorities, the fears of the families and friends of those previously unaccounted for – UK tech magnate Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy, and US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda – would have appeared to have been confirmed.
The search efforts began on Monday 19th August in the aftermath of the sudden sinking of the 56m yacht Bayesian, which is owned by Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who survived the tragedy, in the early hours of that morning.
According to media reports from the town of Porticello, found close to the wreck, the search operations were difficult, with multiple obstacles and fallen furniture blocking access to the interior of the vessel.
But by mid-afternoon on Wednesday, the initial reports that two bodies had been found in one of the cabins began to come through. Several hours later, another two bodies had been located and retrieved. News that the final two bodies had been discovered broke just after 6pm, two and a half days after the Bayesian went down. These reports were later updated and revised to five bodies. Four have been recovered by divers as of 9pm on Wednesday evening.
It is believed that the bodies will be taken to a morgue in Palermo, some 20km from the site of the wreck. The autopsies will reportedly be carried out under the supervision of the public prosecutor of Termini Imeresi in light of the investigation that has been launched by the Italian authorities.
The Bayesian’s captain, 51-year-old New Zealander James Cutfield, reportedly underwent two hours of interrogations by the Italian authorities on Wednesday, while other survivors and witnesses of the tragic event are also believed to have been questioned by investigators.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch has revealed that it is investigating the disaster. Various media outlets have reported that a team of four affiliated inspectors arrived in Porticello on Wednesday and will be carrying out a “preliminary assessment” of the incident.
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Photo via Perini Navi