Hunt for missing six passengers who were on board doomed £30m superyacht: Divers vow 'we're not giving up' amid fears storm will hamper search - as rescuers try to open passages to cabins READ: Moments before disaster: CCTV captures storm ravaging superyacht By Katherine Lawton Published: 17:59 BST, 20 August 2024 | Updated: 18:32 BST, 20 August 2024 e-mail View comments Divers desperately trying to find the six passengers missing after Mike Lynch's superyacht sank have vowed 'we're not giving up' amid fears the storm will hamper their search. Luxury sailboat Bayesian was docked off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, Italy , when a 'whirlwind' hit the area just before 5am on Monday morning, wrecking the boat and causing it to rapidly sink. While 15 of the 22 people on board were rescued by nearby ships, the yacht's chef tragically died while six people including tech billionaire Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter remain missing.
The Italian coastguard has insisted it is continuing its search, even though a positive outcome after nearly two days is 'difficult to imagine'. Frigate Captain Vincenzo Zagarola told Italian radio station RTL: 'Given the time that has passed and the circumstances of the event, it is naturally difficult to imagine that things can go well but we are not giving up, so we are busy [searching] with naval and air resources.' The superyacht was docked off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, when it was hit by an over-sea tornado, known as a waterspo.