From a depth of 50 meters Fifth body recovered from sunken yacht
The search for the missing persons after the sinking of the superyacht was slow, but on Wednesday several bodies were recovered within a short space of time. The accident raises many mysteries.
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- After the sinking of the luxury yacht "Bayesian", divers discovered five bodies, four of which were recovered.
- There were 22 people on board. 15 were rescued and brought ashore.
- The bodies of father and daughter Lynch are presumably still in their cabins on the lower deck.
After the sinking of the luxury yacht "Bayesian" off the Italian Mediterranean island of Sicily, there is practically no hope of any survivors. On Wednesday, the bodies of five of the six missing people were found by special divers inside the sailboat at a depth of around 50 meters. Among them are two married couples who were on board at the invitation of British billionaire Mike Lynch. The 59-year-old and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were in all probability also killed.
In the evening, the authorities announced the identities of four of the victims who had been recovered. The bodies of father and daughter Lynch are presumably still in their cabins on the lower deck, which are difficult to reach. As darkness fell, the search had to be interrupted. In the afternoon, the Italian television station Rai and several British media reported that the billionaire had been found.
Course of events still unclear
The ship's cook was the first of presumably seven fatalities to be discovered in the water on Monday. 15 people survived the accident, which occurred on Monday just half a nautical mile - around 900 meters - from the shore.
The exact course of events has still not been clarified. The injured captain of the "Bayesian" was questioned by the Italian police for hours. The newspaper "La Repubblica" quoted him as saying: "We didn't see it coming." However, there are also doubts about this account.
Italian police divers stand on a rigid-hulled inflatable boat near the site of the sinking of the "Bayesian".
Image: dpa
Rescue workers search for the missing persons.
Image: dpa
Italian police divers stand on a rigid-hulled inflatable boat near the site of the sinking of the "Bayesian".
Image: dpa
Rescue workers search for the missing persons.
Image: dpa
Divers search for fatalities
According to the fire department, the sunken ship tipped to one side on the seabed, which made the search for the fatalities considerably more difficult. A diving robot was also used in the search. The 56-metre-long "Bayesian" sank in a heavy storm off the port of Porticello, not far from the island's capital Palermo, early on Monday morning - allegedly within 60 seconds.
Experts are still puzzling over how this could have happened. There has been speculation about a hatch left open during a monster wave or an incorrectly adjusted centerboard on the hull, which can be used to regulate the draft of the ship.
Luxury yacht not thoroughly renovated until 2020
The 15-year-old luxury yacht was only thoroughly renovated in 2020. The ship was equipped with a system that could more than halve its draught: Under normal sailing conditions, it had a keel depth of close to ten meters when the movable daggerboard was fully extended. This compensated for the counter forces of the 75 meter high mast. However, the draft could be reduced to around four meters - for example, to get into a harbour. This may now have been the ship's undoing.
