Italian and British authorities are trying to determine what caused a 184-foot luxury superyacht to sink during a severe storm off the coast of Sicily early Monday after divers recovered six bodies.
According to witnesses, the sailing vessel Baysian was hit by a water tornado while at anchor and quickly sank in 160 feet of water about half a mile off the coast of Sicily near Porticello at around 5 a.m. local time.
There were 12 guests and 10 crew on board when the ship sank. Fifteen were rescued. The body of the ship’s chef was found later that day.
Italian police have not officially released the names of those killed, but those on board included the ship’s owner, British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Mike Lynch’s body has been recovered, USA Today reported, and his daughter’s body was also recovered early Friday morning.
Superyacht Baysian Profile
The Baysian was built by Perini Navi in Italy and delivered in 2008. She was one of ten models built and sailed under the British flag.
Can’t see the graphic? Click here to view it.
Who was on board the Baysian when it sank?
Lynch and her daughter’s rescue led to a total of seven bodies being recovered after the sinking.
New York lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, Morgan Stanley executive Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer, and ship’s chef Recardo Thomas.
Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacalez, was among those rescued.
Lynch was acquitted in June of fraud charges stemming from the sale of his technology company, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard Co. Prosecutors alleged that Lynch and another executive misreported Autonomy’s revenue.
The yacht trip around southern Italy was planned to celebrate Lynch’s acquittal.
Where the yacht sank
What are investigators focusing on?
The Basian is an “unsinkable” ship, said Giovanni Costantino, CEO of Italian Sea Group, which owns the company that built it, according to The Independent. Costantino said the vessel is one of the safest in the world.
Authorities in Termini Imerese, Sicily, and the UK’s Maritime Accidents Investigation Branch are investigating the sinking, and the ship’s captain, James Cutfield, is being questioned.
Initial reports said the ship’s 240-foot aluminum mast had snapped, but Italian divers later said the vessel was unharmed, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Investigators are seeking to determine whether the crew followed safety procedures such as closing the ship’s portholes and hatches before the storm arrived.
Contributors: Christopher Kang and Cybele Mays Osterman
Sources: USA TODAY Network reporting and investigations, Reuters, boatinternational.com, marinetraffic.com
