The Bayesian sank early Monday during freak weather conditions, about 700 meters off the coast of Sicily. It’s believed that a waterspout—a tornado over water—struck the vessel, causing it to capsize and sink 50 meters (164 feet) to the seabed. Throughout Wednesday, a steady stream of boats ferried divers to and from the search site at Porticello, where dozens of emergency service personnel lined the quayside as the bodies of the missing were brought back.
One body bag was seen being loaded into an ambulance, which left the harbour escorted by two police cars, sirens blaring. Italian authorities have so far withheld identifying the recovered bodies, likely waiting until all six are recovered before notifying the victims’ families. According to Italian law, the deceased must be formally identified by a family member or someone close to them before death can be officially certified.
Salvatore Cocina, head of Sicily’s civil protection agency, emphasized that the priority was to recover everyone on board the Bayesian, with an investigation to follow. Among the missing are American jewellery designer Neda Morvillo and her husband Chris. The Bayesian, a 56-meter yacht flying a British flag, had 10 crew members and 12 passengers aboard when it sank. Of the 22 people, 15 survived, including a British mother who reportedly held her baby girl above water to save her from drowning.
The body of the yacht’s chef, Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, was recovered on Monday. Gareth Williams, a friend of Thomas, he had known the chef for 30 years, as they grew up together in Antigua, where Thomas lived during yachting’s off-season.
The passengers were guests of Mike Lynch, founder of the software giant Autonomy, who had reportedly invited them to celebrate his acquittal in a major U.S. fraud case. Lynch was acquitted in June of multiple fraud charges related to the $11 billion (£8.6 billion) sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
Inspections of the yacht’s internal hull were conducted Wednesday morning, with a team of four British inspectors from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) arriving in Sicily to assist. The depth of the wreck has posed significant challenges to the rescue efforts. Italian rescue services stated that the team of specialist divers had been hindered by the fact that the Bayesian is lying on its side at the seabed, with access points blocked by debris.
Professional diver Andy Goddard, speaking before the bodies were recovered, described conditions at the wreck site as “pretty dark” with very limited ambient light at that depth. He likened it to being in a washing machine, with debris floating all around, making it extremely dangerous for divers.