Bayzi Yacht: Fifth body found in search for missing from sunken luxury yacht

Porticello, Italy
CNN
—

Italian authorities say they have found a fifth body during a search for those missing from the sinking of the luxury yacht “Paizian” off the coast of Sicily earlier this week.

The head of Sicily’s civil protection agency, Salvatore Cocina, told CNN on Wednesday that a fifth body had been found on the yacht but had not yet been recovered or identified.

The news comes after divers found four bodies earlier on Wednesday, although the identities of the people found remain unclear.

CNN’s team on the ground saw Italian authorities transfer four body bags from rescue boats to ambulances in the Sicilian port of Porticello earlier Wednesday.

The British-flagged ship sank early Monday — killing at least one of the 22 people on board — after its mast, one of the world’s tallest, snapped in two during a violent storm. Fifteen people were rescued, six were initially reported missing, and one body was found on Monday — believed to be that of chef Ricardo Thomas.

The six individuals reported missing are British tech mogul Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch, Morgan Stanley international director Jonathan Plummer and his wife Judy Plummer, and prominent American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Nida Morvillo.

CCTV footage shows the moments before the 56-metre yacht was swamped by a hurricane. As heavy rains pounded the harbour, the video showed the boat being battered by the storm, rocking violently from side to side before capsizing.

CNN has not been able to independently verify the location or date of the video, but the shape of the ship depicted in the footage appears to match the Bayesian design.

Angela Barkaris, Mike Lynch’s wife, survived the sinking. Speaking to Italian daily La Repubblica from a wheelchair in a hospital in Sicily, Barkaris said she woke up at 4 a.m. local time when the boat ran aground.

She said she and her husband were not worried at first, but became anxious when the yacht’s windows shattered.

The yacht sank after a small storm hit the Mediterranean island, likely capsizing the boat, which was moored about half a mile from Porticello harbour. Eyewitnesses described violent storms and strong winds that left a mountain of debris near the dock.

One witness, who owns a villa overlooking the spot where the Bayezid yacht was moored, said that after news of the yacht sinking emerged, he saw surveillance camera footage, where the boat could be seen sinking.

“In just 60 seconds you could see the ship disappear. You could clearly see what was happening. There was nothing that could be done for the ship. It disappeared in a very short time,” he told the Italian news agency ANSA.

Since the ship sank on Monday, emergency crews have been trying to reach inside the wreckage, with hopes of finding survivors dwindling.

Divers were able to access the wreckage on Tuesday, including some rooms under the yacht’s control bridge. But the operation is “complicated” by the many obstacles and narrow passages inside the ship, the general said, adding that Wednesday’s operation will try to open some of those passages.

Emergency teams resumed the search for the missing on Wednesday and began examining the ship’s halls, according to the Italian news agency “ANSA”.

Rescue efforts are complicated by the short time divers have spent at the wreck site, which is believed to be about 50 metres (150 feet) underwater. Divers have been warned they have only 12 minutes to reach and explore the site before they have to resurface.

Three days after the accident, investigators are still baffled as to how the ship sank so quickly. Such events are extremely rare, Matthew Shank, chairman of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, said Tuesday.

“Looking at extreme weather, if it’s a waterspout, which it appears to be, I would consider it a rare, unpredictable event,” he said, referring to a rare, unpredictable occurrence. “Even outside of the marine industry, all industries struggle with black swan events,” he added.

Although Sicily is not “famous” for hurricanes or waterspouts, “there is a risk” that it could happen — but not every day, Shank said.

“I think it’s important to see what comes out that might indicate changes in shipbuilding and stability, perhaps,” he said, stressing that shipbuilding regulations “are all designed with safety in mind.”

Italian rescue teams are expected to continue their search operations tomorrow morning after concluding their search operations for today.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Maritime Accidents Investigation Branch said it would deploy a team of four inspectors to Palermo to conduct an initial assessment of the scene.