Rescue teams and divers have returned to the site of a storm-sunken superyacht off Sicily to search for six people, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, who are believed to be still trapped in the hull 50 metres under water. / (min cost $ 0 ) or signup to continue reading Divers were loading a rescue dinghy at the port of Porticello, near Palermo, after a first search on Monday ended unsuccessfully. Fire rescue crews reported that divers were unable to access the below-deck cabins because they were blocked by debris that had shifted during the violent storm that toppled the luxury sailboat early on Monday.
Fifteen people survived, including a mother who reported holding her one-year-old baby over the waves to save her. One body had been recovered, officials said. "Access was limited to the bridge, due to the difficulty represented by the presence of furnishings obstructing the divers' passage," the fire crews said in a statement.
The search was made particularly difficult because the ship was resting on the seabed at a depth of 50m, which limits the amount of time divers can be under water, fire rescue spokesman Luca Cari said. As a result, the search was expected to take time, he told the Associated Press early on Tuesday. The 56m British-flagged Bayesian luxury yacht had been moored about 800m off Ponticello when a storm rolled in about 4am on Monday.
Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, .