Specialist cave divers working in 12-minute underwater shifts were searching Tuesday for six missing passengers and crew, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, believed to be in the submerged wreck of a luxury yacht that was slammed by a powerful storm and swiftly sank off Sicily. The sleek yacht, named the Bayesian, was carrying a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers when it suddenly sank near the Mediterranean island that is part of Italy at about 4 a.m.
on Monday. One body has been recovered and 15 people survived. Fire rescue officials have said the six believed to remain in the sailboat’s hull will be considered missing until they are located in the wreckage.
Here’s what we know so far about the sinking and those who were on board. Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water and can happen when a storm moves across warm water. According to the U.
S. National Ocean Service, there are two types of waterspouts — fair-weather and tornadic. Tornadic waterspouts “have the same characteristics as a land tornado.
They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning,” the service says on its website. While scientists haven’t attributed the specific event to climate change, average monthly surface temperatures have been at record highs for months. Hotter air can hold more moisture, making heavier storms more likely.
Sicily has been baking under intense heat this summer, and th.