Italian authorities say a fifth body has been found in the search for those missing from the superyacht Bayesian, which sank earlier in the week after it was caught in the storm while anchored off the coast of Porticello, a village near the Sicilian capital city of Palermo.. The identities of the bodies retrieved were not immediately released.
Salvatore Cocina, director of the island’s Civil Protection Agency, confirmed to NBC News that divers recovered four bodies Wednesday from inside a superyacht that sank in a sudden storm off Sicily. Later on Wednesday, Cocina confirmed to Sky News that a fifth body had been found and was being brought to shore. One passenger remains missing. Their recovery follows a dayslong search in the deep waters off the Italian coast where British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and several others were believed to be trapped in the hull. Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah; Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy; and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, are also missing.
The vessel sank early Monday after its mast — one of the world’s tallest — broke in half during a violent storm. The yacht sank after a small waterspout (a type of tornado) spun over the Mediterranean island, likely capsizing the boat. Fifteen people were rescued, with six initially reported missing, and one body recovered Monday – the ship’s cook, identified as Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas. The Bayesian is owned by a firm linked to Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who was among the survivors rescued by a nearby vessel after getting into a lifeboat.
According to CharterWorld Luxury Yacht Charters, the U.K.-registered Bayesian yacht was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini Navi in 2008. It could carry 12 guests and a crew of up to 10, with its nearly 250-foot mast being noted as the ‘tallest aluminum sailing mast in the world.’
Italian rescue teams are expected to continue their search at dawn on Thursday, after concluding their search for the day.
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