Superyacht Tragedy Near Sicily: Two Bodies Found, Confirmed Death Toll Rises To Three – News18

Divers searching for six missing people following the sinking of a superyacht off Sicily in a storm have found two bodies, a source close to the search told AFP Wednesday.

The discovery brings the confirmed death toll to three. It was not immediately clear who had been found. The missing include UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch and the chairman of Morgan Stanley International Jonathan Bloomer.

Divers and rescue crews unloaded at least one body bag from one of the rescue vessels that pulled into port at Porticello, the Associated Press said.

The discovery confirmed that the operation to search the wreckage on the seabed 50 meters (165 feet) underwater was a recovery one, not a rescue.

The Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged yacht, went down in a storm early Monday as it was moored about a kilometer (a half-mile) offshore.

Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.

Fifteen people escaped in a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby sailboat. One body was recovered Monday — that of the ship’s Antigua-born chef, Recaldo Thomas.

Six people remained unaccounted for, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter and associates who had successfully defended him in a recent US federal fraud trial.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)