Mike Lynch yacht latest: Fifth body found inside Bayesian boat sunken off coast of Sicily

Five bodies have been now found inside the wreck of the luxury yacht that sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily.

Three body bags were seen being taken to the port of Porticello on Wednesday afternoon following the sinking of the yacht at around 5am on Monday.

The head of Sicily’s civil protection agency Salvatore Cocina said that four bodies had been recovered and efforts to bring a fifth to shore were “ongoing”.

He said there will be an investigation in due course, but the priority was to find those who are still missing.

As the three body bags were taken back to the port of Porticello, dozens of emergency services staff were waiting, and one was seen being put in the back of an ambulance.

The coastguard has been questioning survivors, including the captain of the Bayesian, and passengers on the yacht that was moored next to it who witnessed the ship going down, judicial sources said.

No one is under investigation at the moment, sources added.

Besides the diving team, the coastguard has deployed a remotely operated vehicle to scan the seabed and take underwater pictures and videos that it said may provide “useful and timely elements” for prosecutors looking into the disaster.

Experts have been at a loss to explain how a large luxury vessel, presumed to have top-class fittings and safety features, could have sunk within minutes, as recounted by witnesses. The yacht anchored next to it was unharmed by the storm.

Three body bags were seen being taken to the port of Porticello on Wednesday afternoon following the sinking of the yacht.

The three bodies brought ashore were taken to nearby hospitals for formal identification, while the fourth corpse was being taken to land as evening set in.

The identities of the victims were not immediately given by the authorities.

The head of Sicily’s civil protection agency Salvatore Cocina confirmed two bodies had initially been found on the Bayesian, followed by two more later in the afternoon.

He said there will be an investigation in due course, but the priority was to find those who are still missing.

Watch a live view of a port in Palermo, Italy, on Wednesday (21 August) as a search operation resumes after the Bayesian superyacht sank off the coast of the Sicilian city:

A friend of Mr Thomas, who asked to remain anonymous, said the yachting community has been saddened by his death.

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An ambulance ahs been pictured leaving the harbour after a body bag was brought ashore at Porticello by rescue workers.

The identities of the four bodies that have been found inside the Bayesian yacht have not yet been identified, with two brought in body bags to shore.

One of the bodies belonged to a heavily built man, a source close to rescue operations said, while the second was that of a woman, Italian news agency Adnkronos said.

Two further bodies have been found in a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday.

The boat, owned by the wife of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, was carrying 22 passengers and crew and was anchored off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, when it capsized during a fierce, pre-dawn storm on Monday.

Two corpses were brought ashore from the wreck earlier on Wednesday.

The yacht’s captain was reportedly questioned for more than two hours by investigators who are looking into the shipwreck.

James Cutfield, 51, who is from New Zealand, was questioned on Tuesday evening to help provide technical details and for prosecutors to have a clearer understanding of the boat’s final moments.

His brother Mark earlier told the New Zealand Herald he was a “very good sailor” and “very well respected” in the Mediterranean.

A body bag has been brought ashore after emergency services confirmed that two bodies had been discovered in the wreck of the superyacht Bayesian.