Divers find 4 bodies during search for wreck of superyacht after it sank off Sicily, 2 more remain

PORTICELLO, Sicily — Divers searching the wreck of a superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily found four bodies Wednesday, as the search continues for two other missing passengers and questions mount about why the ship sank so quickly.

Divers and rescue teams unloaded two body bags from the rescue ships that entered the port of Porticello. Salvatore Cocina, head of the Sicilian civil protection agency, said two other bodies were also found in the wreckage on Wednesday, bringing the total to four.

The discovery indicated that the operation to search the hull on the seabed 50 meters (164 feet) underwater was a salvage operation and not a rescue, given the amount of time that had passed and no signs of life had been found after three days of searching, maritime experts said.

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Superyacht sinks in storm off Sicily

The Bayesian, a 56-metre (184-foot) British-flagged yacht, went down in a storm early Monday morning while moored about a kilometre (half a mile) offshore. Civil defence officials said they believed the vessel had been hit by an over-water tornado, 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 Antiguan-born chef, Recaldo Thomas.

Six people remain missing, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter and colleagues who recently successfully defended him in a US federal fraud case.

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Investigation ongoing as questions arise

Meanwhile, detectives from the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office have been gathering evidence for their criminal investigation, which they launched immediately after the tragedy, although no formal suspects have yet been identified.

There are many questions about what caused the superyacht, built in 2008 by Italian shipyard Perini Navi, to sink so quickly, while the nearby sailing yacht Sir Robert Baden Powell was largely spared and the 15 survivors were rescued.

Was it just a case of the odd waterspout knocking the ship on its side and sending water through open hatches? What about the keel, which on a large sailing ship like the Bayesian sailboat might be retractable, allowing it to enter shallower harbours?

“There is a lot of uncertainty about whether it had a retractable keel and whether it could have been raised,” said Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a fellow of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects and editor of the Journal of Sailing Technology. “But if it did, that would reduce the stability of the ship and make it easier to roll over on its side,” he said in an interview.

Yachts such as the Bayesian yachts must also have watertight subcompartments specially designed to prevent them from sinking rapidly and catastrophically, even if some parts fill with water.

“If the ship sank, and especially so quickly, then water must have entered the ship very quickly, but also in a number of places along the length of the ship, which again indicates that the ship rolled onto its side,” said Souppez.

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Challenging underwater search continues

Meanwhile, Italian coast guard and fire brigade divers continue the underwater search in dangerous and time-consuming conditions. Because of the depth of the wreck — much deeper than most recreational divers are certified and at a depth that requires special precautions — divers working in tag teams can only search for about 12 minutes at a time.

The limited dive time is partly to prevent decompression sickness, also known as “dive bends.” This illness can occur when divers remain underwater for a long time and ascend too quickly, causing nitrogen gas dissolved in the blood to form bubbles.

“The longer you stay, the slower you have to ascend,” said Simon Rogerson, editor of SCUBA magazine. He said the tight turnaround time suggests that the operation’s managers are trying to limit risk and recovery time after each dive.

“It appears that they are basically operating with no decompression or very tight decompression, or they are extremely conservative,” he said.