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, which had passed over the area. Fifteen of the Bayesian's 22 passengers and crew managed to escape, first onto a lifeboat and then by a nearby sailboat, the Sir Robert Baden Powell, that had also been moored offshore to ride out the storm, Karsten Borner, the captain of the Baden Powell, told reporters at the scene. One body, belonging to the Bayesian's chef, was recovered nearby.
Among those missing was Lynch, who was once hailed as Britain's king of technology. He was cleared in June of fraud and conspiracy charges in a US federal trial related to Hewlett Packard's $US11 billion ($A16 billion) takeover of his company, Autonomy Corp. His wife, Angela Bacares, survived.
The holiday appeared to be something of a celebration after Lynch's acquittal, with guests including some of the people who had stood by Lynch throughout the ordeal. Among those unaccounted for, according to the civil protection agency, were one of Lynch's US lawyers, Christopher Morvillo of Clifford Chance, and Morvillo's wife. Also among the missing was Jonathan Bloomer, the former head of the Autonomy audit committee who testified at Lynch's trial, and his wife.
Among the survivors was Charlotte Golunski, who said she momentarily lost hold of her one-year-old daughter Sofia in the water, but then managed to hold her up over the waves until a lifeboat inflated and they were both pulled to safety, Italian news agency ANSA reported. The father, identified by ANSA as James Emslie, also survived. The yacht, built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Navi, was carrying 12 passengers and 10 crew.
According to online charter companies, it has been available for charter for 195,000 euros ($A320,000) a week and is notable for its massive 75m tall aluminium mast, one of the tallest in the world. Reuters Advertisement Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. We care about the protection of your data.
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