SICILY: Rescuers and divers returned to the site of a superyacht that sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily on Tuesday, searching for six people, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who are believed to still be trapped in the hull 50 meters (164 feet) below sea level.
Divers were loading rescue boats in the port of Porticello, near Palermo, after an initial search on Monday was unsuccessful. Fire and rescue services reported that divers were unable to access the bottom cabins because they were blocked by debris shifted during the severe storm that capsized the luxury yacht early Monday.
Fifteen people survived, including a mother who reported saving her one-year-old baby by carrying it above the waves. Authorities said one body has been recovered.
“Access to the bridge was restricted due to difficulties posed by the presence of furniture which blocked divers’ passage,” the fire brigade said in a statement.
Fire and Rescue spokesman Luca Cali said the search was particularly difficult because the boat was 50 metres (164 feet) below sea level, limiting the time divers could stay underwater, and that the search was expected to take some time, he told The Associated Press early Tuesday.
The 56-metre (184-foot) British-flagged Baysian luxury yacht was anchored about half a mile off the coast of Ponticello when the storm hit about 4 a.m. Monday. Civil defence officials said the vessel was likely hit by a tornado known as a waterspout that passed nearby.
Fifteen of the Baysian’s 22 passengers and crew escaped, first in lifeboats and then on to the nearby sailing ship Sir Robert Baden-Powell, which had been anchored offshore to weather the storm, Baden-Powell’s captain, Karsten Borner, told reporters at the scene.
The body of one of the Basian chefs was found nearby.
Among the missing was Mr Lynch, once a hailed British technology tycoon who in June pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges in a US federal trial connected to Hewlett-Packard’s $11 billion acquisition of his company Autonomy Ltd. His wife, Angela Baccares, survives.
The holiday appeared to be a celebration of Lynch’s acquittal, and guests included some of the people who supported him throughout his trial. According to the Civil Defense Agency, among the missing were Christopher Morbillo, one of Lynch’s U.S. attorneys, Clifford Chance, and Morbillo’s wife. Also among the missing were Jonathan Bloomer, former chairman of the Autonomy Oversight Committee who testified at Lynch’s trial, and his wife.
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