Search resumes for six missing after Mike Lynch’s yacht sinks, but hopes dim

PORTICELLO, Italy (Reuters) – Divers resumed the search for survivors on Wednesday after British technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch’s yacht sank off the coast of Sicily amid an intense storm two days ago, although hopes of finding him have dimmed alive the six missing people.

The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long (184 ft) superyacht, was carrying 22 passengers and crew and was anchored off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, when it capsized in a fierce pre-dawn storm on Monday. .

Fifteen people survived, the body of one person who died was promptly recovered, and six people remain unaccounted for, including Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter, and Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chairman of Morgan Stanley International.

A Reuters photographer saw coast guard rescue vessels leaving Porticello early Wednesday to head to the scene after the search was called off overnight.

With the sunken boat at a depth of about 50 meters, attempts to locate survivors or bodies have been difficult.

Fire officials say divers only have 8-10 minutes at the wreck site before they have to resurface. Their efforts were hampered by the “very limited” spaces inside the wreckage, said fire department spokesman Luca Cari.

Experts could not explain how a large luxury ship, which is said to have top-notch fittings and safety features, could have sunk in minutes, witnesses reported. Another yacht moored next to it was unscathed by the storm.

Matthew Schanck, president of the Maritime Search and Rescue Board, said the Bayesian was the victim of a “high impact” and rare weather event.

“Looking at the extreme weather, if it was a waterspout, which it appears to be, it’s what I would classify as a black swan event,” he told Reuters. “And even outside of the maritime industry, all industries struggle with black swan events.”

He said he was confident authorities would “get to the bottom” of what caused the shipwreck, thanks to accounts from survivors, witnesses and an examination of the ship, which appears to have remained intact on the seabed.