TWO BODIES have reportedly been found in the search for six missing people after a superyacht sank in Sicily.
Divers recovered the missing passengers today while scouring the wreck, a source close to the investigation said, as it was revealed one is a “heavily built man”.
EPAThe 184ft £14million superyacht named the ‘Bayesian’ before it sank[/caption]
AFPDivers at the scene on Wednesday afternoon[/caption]
PAItalian police service divers on an inflatable boat near the the dive site[/caption]
Rescue workers operating an underwater drone from the surface
The bodies were found trapped by mattresses inside a cabin, La Repubblica reports.
Billionaire yacht owner Mike Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, are among the four missing Brits after his wife Angela Bacares, 57, was saved.
Two other Brits and two Americans are also missing, with four in total from the group still unaccounted for.
The yacht chef, Ricardo Thomas, was confirmed dead after rescuers found his body near the wreck on Monday.
The £14million luxury Bayesian capsized and plunged more than 160ft to the bottom of the sea during a freak storm at around 5am on Monday.
Out of 12 passengers and 10 crew, 15 were rescued from the water including a one-year-old British girl and her mum.
The desperate search entered its third day today with dramatic footage showing firefighters, helicopters, police and divers scouring the sea.
Rescuers deployed an underwater drone robot to assist in the search mission with pictures showing divers operating it from a boat on the surface.
Divers finally reached the “master cabin” late this morning – possibly where the captain stayed – according to Italian outlet Giornale Di Sicilia.
Later reports said they had made it to the area near the passenger cabins, where the coastguard believes the six passengers were trapped.
Although the 184ft yacht is lying “practically intact” on its side at the bottom of the sea, rescuers have been struggling to get inside.
Diver Marco Tilotta said there was a “world of objects” including furniture and debris obstructing the narrow stairs in front of the yacht cabins.
Officials sent an underwater drone robot to the sea bed on Wednesday to help with the search, as it can remain underwater longer than the divers.
Rescuers have been working against a time crunch as they only have 10 minutes to search per dive.
Who are the six still missing from the Bayesian yacht tragedy?
By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
THE BAYESIAN superyacht was hosting a lavish party for 12 guests, with 10 crew also onboard.
After 15 people were rescued from the water on Monday, six people remain missing and one has been found dead.
Italian authorities said the man recovered near the yacht wreckage was the chef working onboard.
Four of the missing are British and two are American.
Mike Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, are among the four Brits lost at sea.
International chairman of bank giant Morgan Stanley, Brit Jonathan Bloomer, 70, is also missing along with his wife Judy.
As is top New York lawyer Chris Morvillo, a solicitor at major firm Clifford Chance who worked for Mike Lynch, and his wife Neda.
It comes as…
‘UK’s Bill Gates’ Mike Lynch & his daughter Hannah, 18, could still be missing on the wreck
Also currently missing are Jonathan Bloomer, Judy Bloomer, Chris Morvillo and Neda Morvillo
Lynch’s wife revealed how she was awoken by a ’tilt’ as the yacht sank
The captain of the Bayesian broke his silence on the horror storm
Experts believe the yacht’s ‘tallest mast in the world‘ may have contributed to the disaster
Pictures showed the tiny raft that saved up to 15 people
Frantic text messages from the survivors revealed the chaos
Luca Cari, head of the local Fire Brigade, explained: “They can stay underwater for a maximum of 12 minutes, two of which are needed to go up and down.
“So the real time to be able to carry out the search is 10 minutes per dive.”
Italian outlet E News said Cari told them the dive teams faced “considerable difficulties” during the search.
He said: “It’s a small Concordia.
“The spaces inside the ship are very small and if you encounter an obstacle it is very complicated to move forward, just as it is very difficult to find alternative routes.”
The Concordia was a cruise ship that hit a rock underwater and capsized, killing 33, in 2012.
The boat capsized at around 5am local time on Monday when the mast collapsed off the coast of Sicily during extreme weather.
Torrential rain and wind battered much of the Porticello port in Palermo overnight on Sunday – striking the superyacht with swirling columns of air that formed waterspouts.
Witnesses said a twister snapped the 246ft boat mast – the world’s second tallest – clean in half.
Others told Italian outlet Ansa that the anchor was down when the storm hit on Monday morning, causing the boat to lose its balance.
CCTV footage showed the boat mast waving before it capsized and sank
PAAn Italian fire brigade crew returning to Porticello Harbour today[/caption]
Divers exploring the waters near the wreck on Tuesday
Mike Lynch with his wife Angela, rescued on Monday
