PORTICELLO, Sicily (AP) — Rescue teams and divers were returning to the site of a storm-sunken superyacht off Sicily on Tuesday to search for six people, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch , who are believed to be still trapped in the hull, 50 meters (164 feet) underwater. Divers were loading a rescue dinghy at the port of Porticello, near Palermo, after a first search 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 Monday.
Fifteen people survived, including a mother who reported holding her 1-year-old baby over the waves to save her. One body has 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 50 meters, which limits the amount of time divers can be underwater, said fire rescue spokesperson Luca Cari. As a result, the search is expected to take time, he told The Associated Press early Tuesday. The 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged Bayesian luxury yacht had been moored about a half-mile off Ponticello when a storm rolled in around 4 a.
m. Monday. Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the .
