Fifth body recovered from wreck of Bayesian superyacht as search resumes in Sicily for sixth missing passenger

22 August 2024, 08:11 | Updated: 22 August 2024, 08:41

A fifth body has been recovered by divers from the wreck of the Bayesian after the superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday.

A fire service boat with flashing blue lights was seen returning with the blue body bag to Porticello at just after 8.45am local time on Thursday.

As of Wednesday night, four bodies had been recovered and brought back to shore.

The stricken superyacht sank to a depth of around 50m with six people marked as missing after it was hit by a water spout at around 5am on Monday.

The missing passengers were: British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, banker Jonathan Bloomer, his wife, Judy Bloomer, lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Italian officials confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that five bodies had been found in the cabins of the boat - with the bodies yet to be identified.

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It means that six of 22 people who were onboard the yacht are confirmed to have died, after the body of chef Recaldo Thomas was found earlier in the week.

Several media outlets have reported that Mr Lynch and Hannah have been identified among the people found, but this has not been confirmed by Italian authorities.

The search was called off at about 8.30pm local time (7.30pm UK time), and will resume on Thursday morning.

Sicily civil protection director-general Salvo Cocina said: "On behalf of myself and my colleagues, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims and express our condolences to them at this difficult time."

It comes as an Italian doctor at the hospital where British tourist Charlotte Emsley and her one-year-old daughter were taken said the mother held her baby above the waves after the yacht sank.

Dr Domenico Cipolla, of Di Cristina Children's Hospital in Palermo, told the PA news agency: "The child and the mother went to the hotel near Porticello on Tuesday, they are both in a good condition.

"Obviously the mother and the husband were so shaken by what has happened, it was a tragedy for them.

"She told me that two minutes after falling asleep with her baby they were in the water, she did not understand how this happened, it went dark.

This is a developing story.