On Wednesday, divers searching the wreck of the superyacht *The Bayesian*, which sank off the coast of Sicily, recovered the bodies of five passengers. The search continued for one more person as questions arose about why the vessel sank so rapidly while a nearby sailboat remained mostly intact. The yacht, a 56-meter British-flagged vessel, had gone down in a storm early Monday after being struck by what is believed to have been a waterspout.
Rescue crews had previously recovered the body of the ship’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, on Monday. The five recovered bodies were brought into Porticello, and the recovery effort shifted focus from rescue to recovery due to the prolonged time elapsed and the absence of signs of life. The ship, built in 2008, sank within minutes of the waterspout impact, highlighting issues with how quickly it filled with water.
Recovery Efforts Continue for Superyacht Wreck Off Sicily as Questions Arise About Rapid Sinking
Among the missing were notable figures including British tech mogul Mike Lynch and his daughter. The search was further complicated by the depth and conditions of the wreck, requiring divers to work in extremely challenging environments with limited visibility and strict time constraints to prevent decompression sickness.
The sailboat *Sir Robert Baden Powell*, which rescued fifteen people from the superyacht, experienced minimal damage despite the severe storm conditions. The stability issues of the superyacht, potentially exacerbated by its tall mast or retractable keel, are under scrutiny. Experts suggest that the yacht’s design and the waterspout may have contributed to its rapid sinking.
Investigators from the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office have begun examining the case, though no suspects have been identified. The recovery efforts are being conducted with the help of underwater robots to explore the wreckage, as divers face hazardous conditions. The continued lack of signs of life indicates that the effort has shifted to understanding how the tragedy occurred.
